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POLK COUNTY–On Thursday, March 2, two Polk County men were sentenced for engaging in dog fighting and related criminal conduct. The two men were indicted in June of last year.

Laddie Dwayne McMillian, 47, of Tryon, will serve 16 months in federal prison and Derrick Twitty, 48, of Columbus, will serve six. Both defendants will serve two years of supervised release following their release and are prohibited from owning any dogs during the term of supervision. 

McMillian conspired to breed, train, and fight dogs for nearly 15  years, according to court documents. He openly boasted of owning and operating a fighting dog breeding operation, sharing a video of his “yard” with 13 dogs in 2020. He also shared videos of his dogs engaged in fights. 

In early 2020, Twitty joined the fighting and breeding operations, and together the two trained  and bred dogs for dog fights.

McMillian and Twitty reportedly considered “Slick Rick” their prize fighter. Slick Rick was repeatedly subjected to fights and died in January of 2022, just weeks after a dog fight. 

The case was investigated by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the USDA Office of the Inspector General.

“The defendants in this case treated dogs like a commodity, bred and trained to fight, often to  death, for the amusement of spectators taking part in this cruel activity,” said U.S. Attorney Deana King. “Dogfighting is an illegal blood sport that subjects animals to incredible pain and suffering. It is also a federal crime and one that has the full attention of my office and our law  enforcement counterparts.”