Tampa, Florida – Josue Antonio Ortega (36, Dade City) today
pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute heroin and to
violating the animal fighting provisions of the federal Animal Welfare Act. He
faces up to 20 years in federal prison on the heroin charge, and up to 5 years
in federal prison on the Animal Welfare Act charge.
According to the plea agreement, Ortega participated with
others in a dogfighting conspiracy. In 2016, he and his co-conspirators,
operating as Boricuba Kennels, sponsored pit bull dogfighting in Pasco County.
On October 19, 2016, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at
Ortega’s property and seized 14 pit bulls—12 of which had wounds and scarring
consistent with having recently fought—along with equipment used to condition
the dogs for fighting. They also seized over 70 grams of heroin.
The federal Animal Welfare Act makes it a felony to
knowingly sell, buy, possess, train, transport, deliver, or receive any animal,
including dogs, for purposes of having the animal participate in an animal
fighting venture. Under federal law, an animal fighting venture means “any
event, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, that involves a fight
conducted or to be conducted between at least two animals for purposes of
sport, wagering, or entertainment.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray.
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