Page A3
July 25. 2007
Dog Fighting Scandal Rings Home
Investigators say schemes
are hard to break up
S arah B i . oiint
T he P ortland O bserver
The underground world o f ille
gal dog fighting is in the national
spotlight with the federal indict
ment ofN F L star M ichael Vick. But
Portlanders who were paying at
tention to former Trail BlazerQyntel
W oods a few years ago w ere prob
ably already aw are o f this clandes
tine crime.
W oods was convicted o f stag
ing dog fights at his house in 2004.
He pled guilty to first-degree ani
mal abuse and was given com m u
nity service, ordered to pay $ 10,000
to the O regon H um ane Society and
was soon dropped by the Blazers.
T he hum ane society played an
instrum ental role in W oods' con
viction when their investigators as
sisted federal authorities in crim i
nal investigations involving dog
fighting and other form s o f animal
cruelty.
by
K enneth M iller.
M iller’s body was found on the
sidew alk in front o f Leon S cott's
north Portland home. W hile pursu
ing her first priority o f investigat
ing the hom icide, she cam e across
six dogs with visible facial and head
injuries and scars all over their legs
and chests - the u n m istakable
signs o f dog fighting.
Scott now aw aits trial on m urder
and drug charges, and dog fighting
charges due to their accidental dis
covery.
A sentim ent, echoed by the hu
m an e so c ie ty an d M u ltn o m ah
County Anim al C ontrol, is that au
thorities and the general public
d o n ’t know much about dog fight
ing, and that the cruelty to the ani
mals is something people really don't
w ant to know too much about.
“If you don’t see it, it’s not there,”
Daul says. "The other aspect is dog
fighters are very secretive about it.
? I f you don’t see it, it's not there. The
other aspect is dog fighters are very
secretive about it. I t’s a small circle.
- Molly Daul, Portland Police homicide detective
Sharon H arm on, the group’s ex
ecutive director, says the agency is
currently involved in two local dog
fighting in v estigations, but be
cause dog fighting rings are mostly
conducted underground they are
hard to bust.
"They (dogfighters)are involved
in gambling, drugs and money laun
dering, and th ey 're good at hiding
it,” Harmon said.
P ortland P olice h om icide d e
tectiv e M olly D aul received b u
reau train in g on dog fighting but
says she w a sn ’t p repared her for
th e s itu a tio n she e n c o u n te re d
last F ebruary, w hen ca lle d in to
in v estig ate the d eath o f Jam es
It’s a small circle.”
T he few cases o f know n dog
fig h ts are rarely p en etrated by
law enforcem ent, Daul explained,
sin ce new s o f the c la n d e stin e
“ m a tc h e s ” are u su a lly sp rea d
through the m ail and th e re ’s no
in fo rm a n t p rese n t to o b ta in a
felony co nviction .
S h e s a y s th o s e w h o a re
p resent are not all g ang m em bers
o r sports celeb rities.
" I t’s u sually an ev en t, w ith
popcorn, hot d ogs, kids and fam
ily ,” she said.
D aul say s d o g fig h tin g , in
w h ic h th e a n im a ls a re o fte n
m aim ed and killed, may be repul-
David Lytle o f the
Oregon Humane
Society shelters
Walter, a pit bull
and German
shepherd mix.
Pit bulls are the
most common
breed used in
dog fights, with
the losing dogs
often killed or
abandoned on
the street.
pilo ro
S arah B loint /
T he P ortland
O bserver
sive to m ost peo p le, but because
this b lood "s p o rt” dates back at
le ast a h u n d red y ea rs, fam ily
m em b ers have long en co u rag ed
accep tan ce th ro u g h the g en e ra
tio n s.
O nly in the past 20 years, she
said, has it been view ed as a crim e,
p ro m p tin g dog fig h ters to retreat
u n d e rg ro u n d .
She b eliev es cases like V ic k ’s,
w hich bring the grisly scen es she
has p erso n ally en co u n te re d into
the n ational co n scio u sn ess, are
long overd u e.
D aul stresses the im p o rtan ce
o f peo p le sp eak in g up w hen they
su sp ect dog fig h tin g activ ity . E s
p ec ia lly sin ce the lack o f re
so u rces lim it how far Portland
P olice o ffic ers can go to help the
do g s they en co u n ter.
"A s far as I'm concerned it’s in
every city in the United States," she
said. “It’s important the public knows
it is still going on and is still popular.”
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Principal Remembered Fondly
Bernard Harvard, principal o f da
Vinci M iddle School and a beloved
northeast Portland educator, died
Saturday,
T h e 41 -year-oldjoined Portland
Public Schools in 2000as a perform
ing arts-m usic teacher at M adison
High School. He also taught at
Humboldt and Alam eda elementary
schools.
H e le a v e s b e h in d h is w ife
W endy and their five year old son
Gabriel w ho is autistic.
Harvard, a native o f New York
City started perform ing at the age
o f 16. He then w ent on to receive his
b a c h e lo rs a n d m a s te rs fro m
M ansfield U niversity o f Pennsyl
vania. He was also the lead vocalist
for Portland group Soul Search.
On Sunday, when students and
parents learned about the death of
Harvard, they gathered at A lam eda
playground, where Harvard was the
PORTRAIT
A memorial service will be heldat
3 p.m. Thursday. July 26 at Ever
green Memorial Gardens. 1101 N.E.
112th Ave., Vancouver; and an in
formal potluck in Bernard’s memory
will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday, July 27 at da Vinci Arts Middle
School, 2508 N.E. Everett St.
The Streets o f Tanasbourne
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Bernard Harvard
form er vice principal.
T he cau se o f death is still u n
know n, but acco rd in g to P o rt
la n d P u b lic S ch o o l o ffic ia ls ,
H arvard had co m p licatio n s fo l
low ing knee surgery.
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Custodians get $14.5 Million
T he 280 local cu sto d ia n s w ho
w ere laid o ff from P ortland Public
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o u tso u rce d ,0 a p riv ate c o n tra c
to r w ill be co m p en sa ted for the
v io latio n o f state labor laws.
U .S . D i s t r i c t J u d g e J o h n
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the school d is tric t’s settlem ent
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In 2002, the school d istrict
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w ork to save m oney.
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled
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law when it hired Portland H abilita
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union custodians.
More than 100 custodians who
were laid o ff have been hired back.
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