Short's trial scheduled to begin November 21

Friday, August 8, 2008
By COREY NOLES Statesman Staff Writer

Another man charged in connection with last October's dogfighting raid has had his case set for trial.

The case against Jessey Short, 30 of Cape Girardeau, has been set for trial beginning Nov. 21 with a hearing on a motion to suppress evidence scheduled for Sept. 22.

Short, who posted a $125,000 cash bond on Nov. 2, 2007, faces five charges of felony dogfighting. He faces a maximum of 12 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

The Oct. 21 raid north of Dudley where Short was arrested was a cooperative effort of the Stoddard County Sheriff's Dept., the SEMO Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Missouri Humane Society.

Investigators recovered a large amount of evidence consistent with dog fighting including weights, treadmills, a bloody mat covering the floor of what was believed to be the ring where dogs were fought and breaker bars used to pry one dog's jaws from another.

Also arrested in the raid were 29-year-old Jamie Sifford of Dudley and 28-year-old Curtis Pickering of South Fulton, Tenn..

Sifford pled guilty in July to a probation violation for a six year sentence and three years on the related dogfighting charges.

Sifford originally faced 18 charges of the Class D felony of dogfighting, three counts of the Class C felony of Possession of a controlled substance and one Class A misdemeanor Possession of drug paraphernalia.

Pickering faces three charges of the class d felony of dog fighting. The charges are punishable by up to 5 years in prison for each charge.

A new warrant was issued for Pickering arrest on July 17 that has not yet been served. His attorney, Steve Walsh, has appeared in court on his behalf filing a motion to have the $250,000 bond reduced.

Two of the dog's seized in the raid have been attributed to Pickering as a result of an interview with Sifford.

Pickering faces more charges upon his return to Tenn. resulting from a raid on his South Fulton property.

Investigators reportedly recovered videos at both residences of at least one of the dogs found involved in fighting. A video reportedly found in the glove compartment of Pickering's SUV showed dogfights at his Tennessee home with his girlfriend and several family members present.

The day after Pickering's arrest, authorities at the Stoddard County Jail heard a phone recording of him calling home and asking his mother, Judy Pickering, and his girlfriend, Ashley Donaldson, to hide dogs and evidence for him. Both were charged in October with being accessories to dogfighting.

Orvil Pickering, Curtis Pickering's father, faces one count of dogfighting because the tape found in Stoddard County showed him participating in the fights. Curtis Pickering also faces a charge of dogfighting in Tennessee.

Look for more on this story in future editions of The Daily Statesman.

cnoles@dailystatesman.com

Comments

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You still need to do some research as there are a few holes in the story... One thing- Why is Jessey Short filing a motion to suppress evidence? Have you been told anything specific?

-- Posted by family_first on Fri, Aug 8, 2008, at 3:22 PM

May these Scumbags who partake in dogfighting spend many unhappy years in jail.

-- Posted by rosks304 on Sat, Aug 9, 2008, at 5:58 AM

Boy, these must be some really crude people.

-- Posted by pattielee on Sat, Aug 9, 2008, at 8:36 AM

Ruff Ruff RRRRRRRRRRRRRuff

-- Posted by shannonhoon on Sat, Aug 9, 2008, at 10:44 AM

If a motion to suppress evidence has been made, that means there was no search warrant.

-- Posted by jeni70 on Thu, Aug 14, 2008, at 10:15 AM

jeni70 ~ I believe your onto something...

-- Posted by family_first on Thu, Aug 14, 2008, at 5:32 PM

I'm just curious if the evidence he's tryin to get them to surpress ain't the phone call he had with his mom and girlfriend. I know they're legally allowed to screen calls made from a jail, but defense lawyers will push for anything nowdays.

-- Posted by mrsdolphin on Thu, Aug 14, 2008, at 11:35 PM

mrsdolphin~ It's Short's lawyer trying to suppress evidence that they had against him.. As far as Mr Pickering, to my knowledge he no longer has any charges in TN. There are too many unanswered questions, too many holes in the story or shall I say stories. I will say that to my knowledge he never talked to his EX- Miss Donaldson- while he was in jail.

-- Posted by family_first on Tue, Aug 19, 2008, at 4:48 PM

BTW has Mr Pickering been served yet? Is his bond still $250,000? Will he have court in the original county?

-- Posted by family_first on Tue, Aug 19, 2008, at 4:53 PM