In Chester County, South Carolina two men have been arrested after allegations of dogfighting. The suspects were arrested on January 13, 2026
Deveko Lavar Kennedy, 35, faces 17 counts of criminal conspiracy and four counts of animal fighting or baiting. This is Kennedy’s second arrest for these types of charges. He had been previously arrested in November 2025. Also arrested was Moaderell Allen Woods, 45, who faces three charges of criminal conspiracy, eight counts of animal fighting or baiting and nine counts of ill treatment of animals.
Woods was released Jan. 14, after receiving a $185,000 bond.
According to the press release by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the arrests stemmed from text messages between the men mentioning dogfighting matches and carrying out their own fights.
In one description, investigators stated they found a “large and bloody dogfighting pit” next to Kennedy’s home. The pit was described as a 16 x 16-foot wooden structure. Kennedy was recorded texting others he knew stating he was “walking to the box now” to conduct matches.
Another description had been about one of the dogs’ broken legs with an open injury, and instead of getting the animal veterinary care, they would just let the bone heal out of place and pack the dog’s injury with Vaseline.
In another text message about a dog fight, Woods reportedly texted concerning a dog’s injury, “I ain’t trying to bring him back” and “this mf can catch a heat stroke all I care”.
Nine dogs were removed from one of the homes. All the dogs had visible injuries, were undernourished and did not have clean water or clean areas where they had been chained. Multiple dogs had been tethered with heavy logging chains. Dogs had untreated medical issues including some with open wounds. One puppy had been confined to a small cage filled with feces.
- SLED stated that the dogs were subjected to “unnecessary pain and suffering” due to the acts of commission and omission by the defendants.
- SLED announced that it had worked with local agencies during the first three weeks of January to rescue 20 dogs from three separate operations; resulting in three arrests made in Chester County and two arrests made in York County.
If you have information about dogfighting in South Carolina, submit a tip to SLED by emailing [email protected] and/or calling (866) 472-8477.
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