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CHATHAM –
One man accused in an alleged dog-fighting ring will receive four months of house arrest after pleading guilty in a courtroom here Thursday.
Robert Tomlin appeared with his attorney, Frank Retar, who made a joint submission for the sentence with assistant Crown attorney James Boonstra.
Candice Johnson, a co-accused, had her charges withdrawn.
Evidence heard is protected under a publication ban, as the case is ongoing against other co-accused individuals.
Justice Paul Kowalyshyn accepted the joint submission, which also included a lifetime ban for Tomlin on owning an animal, or residing with one, as well as two years of probation.
According to previously published reports, the case came to court as a result of a joint investigation by Chatham-Kent police and officials with an animal-welfare group, the Ontario SPCA.
Officers went to a Morris Line property, near Merlin, on Oct. 9, 2015. Their investigation resulted in more than 500 criminal and provincial-offences charges for animal cruelty, as well as drugs and firearms offences.
Several of the dogs seized have been sent or will be going shortly to a dog rehabilitation centre in Florida, after the conclusion of a separate legal battle that started when the SPCA brought an application before the court to have 21 of the dogs euthanized.
A preliminary hearing was held for John Robert and Michel Gagnon earlier this month, with the case slated to return to court in September.
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