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WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in New Orleans, Louisiana, returned an indictment charging a Louisiana man with seven counts of Possession of Animals in an Animal Fighting Venture.

According to court documents, David Guidry III, 47, possessed and received dogs for the purpose of having the dogs participate in animal fighting ventures.

On or around Oct. 24, 2017, a federal law enforcement team consisting of agents from the Department of Agriculture, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service, and other agencies executed a search warrant on Guidry’s residence. The physical evidence from the search along with court-authorized wiretaps established that Guidry violated the federal anti-animal-fighting statute.

If convicted, Guidry faces up to five years in prison for each count of conviction. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Trial Attorney Matthew D. Evans of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Environmental Crimes Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan L. Shih for the Eastern District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.