Pentagon Official Charged With Facilitating Dog Fighting Ring For More Than 20 Years

A senior member of the Department of Defense communications staff has been arrested and charged with participating in a dogfighting ring in the D.C. area for more than 20 years, federal authorities disclosed Monday. The ring regularly trained dogs for fights, ran thousands of dollars in bets on the outcomes, and executed dogs that didn't die during matches, court records state.

Frederick Douglass Moorefield Jr., 62, of Arnold, Md., was a deputy chief information officer for command, control and communications for the Secretary of Defense's Chief Information Officer, court records and Moorefield's LinkedIn page show. He was arrested Thursday on a charge of promoting and furthering animal fighting venture, along with a longtime friend who allegedly admitted his participation in dogfighting, Mario D. Flythe, 49, of Glen Burnie.

Investigators found battery jumper cables, which allegedly were used to execute dogs at Moorefield's house, along with five pit bull-type dogs at his house and five pit bull-type dogs at Flythe's house, court records show. The FBI, the Department of Agriculture and other local and federal agencies raided both houses on Sept. 6, according to a federal affidavit, finding weighted collars and heavy metal chains used to increase fighting dogs' strength. Authorities said they also found "an apparatus that is used for involuntarily inseminating female dogs" and stains "consistent with bloodstains from dogfights."

Both men were released after being arraigned.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the complaint, Moorefield, a Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, and Communications, for Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Flythe used an encrypted messaging application to communicate with individuals throughout the United States to discuss dogfighting. Moorefield used the name "Geehad Kennels" and Flythe used the name "Razor Sharp Kennels" to identify their respective dogfighting operations.

For example, as detailed in the affidavit, Moorefield, Flythe and their associates used the encrypted messaging application to discuss how to train dogs for illegal dogfighting, exchanged videos about dogfighting, and arranged and coordinated dogfights. Moorefield and Flythe also discussed betting on dogfighting, discussed dogs that died as a result of dogfighting, and circulated media reports about dogfighters who had been caught by law enforcement. As further alleged in the affidavit, Moorefield and others also discussed how to conceal their conduct from law enforcement.

On September 6, 2023, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at Moorefield and Flythe's residences in Maryland. Following the execution of these warrants, twelve dogs were recovered and seized by the federal government. Law enforcement also recovered veterinary steroids, training schedules, a carpet that appeared to be stained with blood, and a weighted dog vest with a patch reading "Geehad Kennels." In addition, law enforcement officers seized a device consisting of an electrical plug and jumper cables, which the affidavit alleges is consistent with devices used to execute dogs that lose dogfights.