Fighting (dog), animal cruelty (causing bodily harm)
NEWS STORIES
Tampa police rescue a dog shot and tied to railroad tracks
March 4, 2015
Tampa Police rescued a mixed-breed dog Wednesday evening that someone tied with a belt to railroad tracks in Sulphur Springs and shot multiple times.
Police said on Twitter that they had to delay an oncoming train to rescue the dog.
Three calls about gunfire around 5:30 p.m. drew officers to the railroad tracks just north of Eskimo Drive, authorities said.
There they found the dog, shot twice in the neck and once above the right shoulder, bleeding but alive. The female mixed-breed — police are calling her R&R — was rushed to the Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Center on Florida and Bearss avenues. She remained there in stable condition Wednesday night.
Despite the successful rescue mission, authorities said R&R's right leg does need to be amputated.
Dog shot, tied to railroad tracks in Tampa
10 News Staff, WTSP
March 5, 2015
Tampa, Florida -- Police are asking for the public's help to find whoever is responsible for shooting a dog and then tying it to railroad tracks in Tampa.
About 5:23 p.m. Wednesday, officers responded to three calls involving shots fired in the Sulphur Springs area. They found a dog -- a 1- to 2-year-old female mixed breed -- that had been shot twice in the neck and once above the right shoulder, and was tied to the tracks with a belt, about 100 feet north of Eskimo Drive.
Police are asking for the public's assistance to find whoever is responsible for shooting a dog and then tying it to railroad tracks.
Davidson said the dog -- named either Cabela or R&R -- is sweet and good-tempered.
The dog is in stable condition, but will need her right front leg amputated in the next few days.
Anyone with information on what happened to the dog or who owns it, is asked to notify police at (813) 231-6130. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS.
The Humane Society of Tampa Bay is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) who shot Cabela. If you have information about the perpetrator(s) please call 813-231-6130.
Two arrests made in case of dog tied to tracks and shot in Sulphur Springs
March 11, 2015
TAMPA — Two teenagers have been arrested and charged with strapping a dog to railroad tracks in Sulphur Springs a week ago, shooting her and leaving her for dead.
Police said the mixed-breed they have named Cabela had been purchased for dog fighting. They believe she was shot when her new owners determined she was a poor fighter.
Natwan Callaway and Bobby Hollinger, both 17 and from Tampa, face an aggravated animal cruelty charge. Callaway faces an armed trespassing charge and Hollinger faces a trespassing charge for being on CSX property.
Police said more arrests and charges are likely.
Stories of the dog's shooting spread internationally and Tampa police received thousands of comments on their Facebook page from animal lovers expressing outrage over the incident. Police said they, too, were emotionally affected.
"Nothing really prepares you to see a helpless animal tied so tight to a railroad track that she is literally pinned down," said Sgt. Rich Mills, a 20-year veteran of the Tampa Police Department and military veteran who was one of the first to come to Cabela's aid. "It touched me."
A week ago, after following tips about gunshots and a dog on the railroad tracks, Tampa police officers found Cabela. The young pit bull mix was belted to the tracks at the end of E Eskimo Drive, shot twice near the neck, one leg shattered, her paws stained with blood.
Officers called CSX to halt possible trains and rushed the dog to emergency care.
Those at the Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Service clinic feared Cabela might lose a leg, but surgery proved successful, and she emerged with all limbs intact.
The clinic was flooded with donations, according to employees there. One woman, Selena Chiavatti, 33, drove from Orlando to donate a pink bed, toys and treats for the recovering dog.
"It's just a lot," she said, tearing up. "That dog is sitting there in terror and no one is coming. … It drives me crazy that people would do this."
Teens arrested for shooting dog, tying to railroad tracks
March 12, 2015
Tampa, Florida -- Two 17-year-old juveniles have been arrested in the abuse of a dog found shot and tied to railroad tracks, Tampa police announced Wednesday night.
Police said they believe the dog owners sold Cabela for her to be used in dog fighting, but the two Tampa juveniles found she was not very good and then wanted to get rid of her.
A tip led police to a surveillance video, in which investigators were able to recognize a person -- from previous contact -- who was then able to identify others in the video, which investigators received this week.
That led investigators to the two juveniles. Police said one of the suspects has a lengthy record.
Tampa police unraveling timeline of Cabela's shooting
Mar 12, 2015
We are learning new information about exactly what happened the day police say two teens tied Cabela to railroad tracks and shot her, leaving the dog for dead.
This comes as the family of two of the four people arrested in connection with the crime say they have been unfairly lumped in with the shooters.
Tampa Police Department is laying out what happened to Cabela on March 4 that led to two men and two teens facing charges.
Investigators say Cabela wound up at Kenny Bell and Darnell Devlin's home. Their mother told them she didn't want another animal.
Alicia Young says, "I already told them two dogs is enough. We cannot afford anymore dogs."
Next police say Bell and Devlin asked the teens to "get rid of her.”
Officers found security camera video of the teens walking Cabela toward woods near railroad tracks in the Sulphur Springs area.
Investigators acknowledge the adults may not have known what the teens had in mind.
Police said the teens shot Cabela and she ran for her life back to the house where she started that day.
Next the security camera video shows the teens walking the pit bull mix back toward the tracks. Officers said the teens tied Cabela so she couldn't run and shot her a second time.
Detectives said Devlin and Bell admitted they got Cabela for dog-fighting.
The men's father denies dog-fighting happened at their house adding he's never known his sons to have dogs to fight.
Tyrone Devlin says, "I don't understand this. They just target them, messing with them man."
Meanwhile, Cabela's caretakers said they're focused on her recovery and hope for a new life.
Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Services co-owner Steven Pahl said, "She's got elbow, she's got wrist movement. She has got shoulder movement. All of that is fine. She is not in a lot of pain because she is allowing me to touch her and touch it."
So far Cabela is on track for a full recovery. On Thursday she tried to put weight on the leg when she walked.
She's using all her joints in her right leg, which is a great sign.
Cabela's recovery will be another four to six weeks.
Many are offering to adopt Cabela, although the vet clinic says they're many steps removed from the adoption process.
Still, there are many other stray and abused animals that don't get the same media attention.
Cabela's owners arrested for dog fighting
Eric Glasser, WTSP
March 13, 2015
Tampa, FL -- Tampa police have arrested two more people in connection with the case of a dog tied to the railroad tracks and shot.
Thursday's charges stem from allegations of dog fighting.
Cabela comes out to say hello to reporters as she continues her recovery. Danica Lawrence, WTSP
Within hours of arresting the two teens in the case of Cabela, the pit bull mix, police arrested the dogs' former owners; 18-year-old Darnell Devlin, and 21-year-old Kenny Bell.
"The two individuals that were arrested indicated that she was purchased for dog fighting. And she was kept on that property for that purpose," said Assistant Chief Eric Ward.
At the home where Devlin and Bell were arrested, their mother, Alicia Young, denied her sons had done anything wrong, even though detectives removed two more dogs from the house with what were describe as wounds consistent with dog fighting.
Tampa police arrest the owners of Cabela the day after charging two teens with hurting the dog.
"There is no proof of dog fighting equipment in our house, around the house, or anything like that," said Young.
"They don't. We don't dog fight. I don't even let my two dogs. There was nothing like that happening. I would not allow that, not for a second."
But Ward says Animal Services investigators found evidence of dog fighting.
"The injuries to those animals were consistent with dog fighting." said Ward, "There were several injuries, not only along the neck, but all over their bodies."
Investigators say Devlin and Bell also confessed to buying Cabela with the purpose of using her for dog fighting.
When she wouldn't, police say the men convinced a pair of 17-year-olds to take Cabela away and kill her.
A tipsters' surveillance video, say police, shows all four suspects walking the dog toward the railroad tracks where she was shot.
"They are all neighborhood associates. They're all friends," said Ward, "And they went together to the railroad tracks to dispose of her."
At the veterinarian's clinic where she's being cared for, doctors say her scarring indicates Cabela may have been used as a so-called bait-dog. "Where they would use for other aggressive dogs to essentially to train them and encourage them to fight," said Dr. Megan Niedens, one of Cabela's caretakers.
The teens arrested face charges of trespassing on the railroad tracks as well as aggravated animal abuse.
10 News is not identifying the teenagers because they are minors, which is in keeping with the stations Crime Guidelines.
Devlin and Bell are each charged with two counts connected with dog fighting. And more charges could be coming. The reason, say investigators, is that they have now tracked down the people who sold Cabela to the men in Tampa. That case now being investigated by Hillsborough County Animal Services.
Amazingly, Cabela is doing very well, say her doctors, but they have disclosed she is now being treated for heartworm, and she still needs a lot of physical therapy before they can say for certain if she'll be able to keep her leg.
Eventually, they say, she will be adopted, but they still have a while to go.
Bond revoked for 2 alleged abusers of Cabela the dog
Mar 13, 2015
Tampa, Fla., - Citing recent criminal charges, a Hillsborough County judge revoked the bond for both Kenny Bell and Darnell Devin, two of the man accused of abusing a dog rescued by Tampa Police officers last week.
Bell and Devin are two of the four people arrested this week for abuse of the dog named Cabela by Tampa Police officers.
A bond for Bell was originally set at $50,000 but the judge revoked Bell's option to bail out because of a violation of probation.
A bond for Devin was originally set at $27,000 but the judge revoked Devin's option to bail out because of a violation of a pretrial release.
Both are charged with 2 counts of "possession of a dog fighting dog."
Two other dogs were also confiscated this week from the same N. 16th Street home in Tampa where Cabela once stayed.
The other two people arrested, who were in court on Thursday, are under the age of 18, so ABC Action News isn't publishing their names and faces at this time unless the state decides to charge them as adults.
Tampa Police say all four have already admitted to their role in the abuse of Cabela, even though family members of some of the suspects deny this.
Officers say they have home surveillance video that shows some of the following narrative: Cabela was taken from a home in the Sulpher Springs community of Tampa into the woods and was shot and left for dead. The dog apparently returned to the house however, and that's when, police say, Bell and Devlin told the two teens to "get rid of her." That's when the teens allegedly tied the dog with a belt to some railroad tracks and shot her a second time.
After responding to reports of gunfire, officers found and rescued Cabela from the tracks, and instead of amputating her front injured right as was initially feared, a surgeon implanted a metal piece into her leg as an alternative remedy.
It's been about a week since that initial surgery, and the vet tells ABC Action News they are "cautiously optimistic" she will make a full recovery.
Her large exterior cast was removed on Wednesday, and she's since been hobbling along and beginning to put some weight on her injured front right leg.
Tampa Police also tells ABC Action News that the original owners, who at first told officers Cabela ran away or was stolen, may have rather actually stolen Cabela, although it's not clear the original owners knew what situation she would end up in.
It's also not yet clear yet who the original owners first sold the young pitbull mix to, although the family of Devlin and Bell insist they did not buy Cabela, but rather adopted her briefly from a neighbor.
Cabela's recovery will be another four to six weeks.
Many are offering to adopt Cabela, although the vet clinic says they're many steps removed from the adoption process.
Still, there are many other stray and abused animals that don't get the same media attention.
Cabela, the Tampa dog tied to railroad tracks, released from vet
March 14, 2015
TAMPA -- Cabela, the dog Tampa police officers found shot and tied to a railroad track, has been released from a Hillsborough County veterinarian and taken to a foster home.
Good news for Cabela, she has left the building to go into super secret, never to be revealed, protective custody. Hiding: to heal, socialize and begin her transition to a new life. Updates will be posted on her status in a timely fashion!
Tampa police officers named the dog after they found her suffering from gunshot wounds and tied to a railroad track in the Sulphur Springs area.
Tampa owner of dog tied to railroad tracks pleads guilty to dogfighting
May 18, 2015
TAMPA — One of four young men arrested in March after police rescued a bit pull mix that had been shot and tied to railroad tracks pleaded guilty Monday to owning the animal for dogfighting.
Investigators said Kenny Bell, 21, was not involved in shooting 2-year-old Cabela, strapping her to the tracks in Sulphur Springs and leaving her for dead. But Cabela belonged to Bell and his brother Darnell Devlin, 18, both of whom were accused of using the dog in fights.
Detectives searching the men's home found two other fighting dogs, both of whom had tell-tale bite marks on their faces and legs. Investigators also found evidence of dogfighting in the back yard. They said Cabela's owners decided to have her killed after she refused to fight.
In a deal reached with the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office, Bell was sentenced to four years of probation and 150 hours of community service. The judge ordered him to pay $1,000 in restitution to Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Services. During Bell's probation, he will not be allowed to own any animals.
Devlin, who has been charged with owning an animal for dogfighting and abandonment of an animal, is scheduled to go to trial in August.
Although veterinarians initially thought Cabela would lose one of her legs, she recovered after surgery. According to Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Services, she's healthy and is being cared for by a foster family.
The people police say were ultimately responsible for attempting to kill Cabela were two 17-year-olds, Natwan Callaway and Bobby Hollinger.
According to investigators, Hollinger was the first to fire at the dog, but she ran from him and returned home.
Hollinger and Callaway caught her and brought her back to the tracks, where they tied her down and Callaway shot her several times, police said.
Prosecutors are charging Callaway as an adult. He faces felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and armed trespassing, as well as misdemeanor charges of abandonment of an animal and being a minor in possession of a firearm. His trial has been set for August.
Hollinger, who will be treated as a juvenile, has been charged with trespassing and abandonment of an animal.
No trial date has been scheduled in his case.
Authorities have said the two teenagers have confessed.
With the exception of Hollinger, the men allegedly involved in Cabela's abuse have lengthy arrest records. Prosecutors charged Bell with attempted murder last year, but the case was dropped. Bell has also faced charges of robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of marijuana.
Callaway has charges dating back to 2012, including burglary, robbery, grand theft and felon in possession of a firearm, according to state records. Devlin's charges include possession of marijuana, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and shooting at or within a building, records show.
Tampa teenager pleads guilty in case of dog tied to railroad tracks
October 14, 2015
TAMPA — The teenager accused of shooting a dog, tying it to railroad tracks and leaving it for dead last March was sentenced Wednesday to seven months in the county jail and barred from going anywhere near animals.
"You're to have no contact with animals," Hillsborough Circuit Judge Lisa Campbell told Natwan Callaway, 17, his eyes downcast and shoulders slumped. "That's any animal. I don't care if it's a fish."
The 2-year-old pit bull mix, which was later named Cabela by the Tampa police officers who rescued her, survived her encounter with Callaway and three other young men. After recovering from surgery, she was placed with a foster family and has since become a minor celebrity within Tampa Bay's animal rescue community.
The four young men charged with abusing her include her owners, brothers Kenny Bell, 22, and Darnell Devlin, 18, neither of whom were directly implicated in the attempt to kill her but were accused by prosecutors of using her in dogfights.
In May, Bell was sentenced to four years of probation and 150 hours of community service. The judge ordered him to pay $1,000 in restitution to Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Services. Devlin took a similar deal, agreeing to a year of community control and three years' probation, as well as a $1,000 veterinary bill.
Another suspect, 17-year-old Bobby Hollinger, has been charged with trespassing on the CSX tracks and abandonment of an animal. As he is being treated as a juvenile, the records of his case are confidential, but the charges against him are pending.
Police say Hollinger was the first to shoot at Cabela, but she ran from him into a wooded area and returned home. Hollinger and Callaway caught her, brought her back to the tracks in Sulphur Springs and tied her leash to a pole next to the tracks. According to prosecutor Nicholas Glance, it was Callaway who shot the dog three times.
Charged as an adult, Callaway pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, armed trespassing and being a minor in possession of a firearm. With credit for time served, he could be released from jail in weeks, at which point he will be placed on probation for several years. Prosecutors said Callaway will be released with a GPS monitor and will have to adhere to a curfew and find a part-time job.
Brothers with ties to notorious dog-abuse case arrested again
October 24, 2015
TAMPA — Jail records don't say which brother thought it a good idea to pose for a Facebook photo with an alligator.
Two brothers who pleaded guilty earlier this year to dog-fighting charges after police rescued a dog that had been shot and tied to railroad tracks are in animal-related trouble again, this time for the possession of an alligator.
Kenny Bell, 22, and Darnell Devlin, 18, both of Tampa, were charged Friday by officers with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Wildlife officers were called by a Hillsborough sheriff's deputy who saw the pair in a Facebook photo taken Monday showing them with an alligator whose legs and mouth are tied with tape, according to arrest affidavits. It is a misdemeanor in Florida to possess an alligator.
Posing with the gator also violated Bell's probation and Devlin's community control on their plea in the earlier dog case, jail records show. Both are jailed without bail.
Bell and Devlin achieved national notoriety for their connection to the case of Cabela, a 2-year-old female pit bull mix they owned who was rescued in March by Tampa police officers. The officers found her shot in the neck, strapped to railroad tracks in Sulfur Springs and left for dead.
Neither man was charged with shooting the dog and leaving her on the tracks. But police said the men used Cabela in dogfighting, apparently discarding her because she wasn't mean enough.
They were accused of giving the dog to two 17-year-olds, who police said then shot Cabela and tied her to the tracks.
Detectives searching Bell and Devlin's home found two other dogs, both of which had telltale bite marks on their faces and legs. Investigators also found evidence of dogfighting in the back yard and said Bell and Devlin decided to have Cabela killed for refusing to fight.
They pleaded guilty to dogfighting charges. Bell was sentenced to four years' probation while Devlin received a year of community control followed by three years' probation. A judge ordered that neither man keep any animals. Both must pay the dog's $1,000 vet bill.
Natwan Callaway, 17, was sentenced this month to seven months in jail for shooting the dog. Another youth was charged with trespassing on the railroad tracks.
Cabela — she was named by the Tampa police officers who rescued her — is doing remarkably well and is recovered from wounds that included a shattered leg.
![Tampa Police Sgt. Rich Mills carries an injured dog to a police vehicle for a trip to an emergency veterinarian around dusk on Wednesday. [Tampa Police Department]](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/jqBriqKYwJiFWui6hu62w0GTmGrC0BDXfdzRmJcu2drPToAdEX2borpmgNkc7E06PanLTjIqndngW2aFyeVyxXaxbDyMg5vsrCGQUUitpjGkAZJjCCWTEpI4g4pFwRBJj7ASNmw-) |
| Tampa
Police Sgt. Rich Mills carries an injured dog to a police vehicle for a
trip to an emergency veterinarian around dusk on Wednesday. [Tampa
Police Department] |
