JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man is out of jail on bond after his home was recently raided by police and officers with Animal Care and Protective Services.
Kyle Henderson, 27, was arrested Thursday at a home on Colonial Avenue. Court records show he’s facing charges of possessing an animal for the purpose of fighting or baiting and confinement of animals without sufficient food, water or exercise.
A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said she issued a complaint to animal control about continuous animal noises. She said she noticed what appeared to be pit bulls in the yard, as well as puppies in a crate, and she provided cellphone video of the animals in the yard.
“They would cry and cry and cry,” she said.
According to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office calls for service, there have been five animal noise complaints at the property since 2019. There have also been three animal investigations there since last year. Two of those investigations were in January.
The raid on the home comes more than a week after police and animal control raided a Northside property on Old Kings Road. An officer on-scene confirmed the raid at that property was part of a dogfighting investigation.
Two months prior, News4Jax was on-scene when officers raided a Westside property on Exline Road and confiscated more than a dozen pit bulls. Days later, police arrested the dogs’ owner, 42-year old Angelo Ellis. He was charged with possessing an animal for the purpose of fighting and cruelty to animals, among other charges.
Jim Crosby is a former JSO police officer who is also one the nation’s leading experts on investigating dogfighting. He says recognizing possible mistreatment of animals is critical.
“The people who are doing these abusive things with dogs are very secretive, so they have privacy fences. They are not having the animals out in public and they may use several locations,” he explained.
After police arrested Henderson, city code enforcement red tagged the home for reasons that are unclear.
Henderson is scheduled for an arraignment hearing on March 11.