A 63-year-old former Pentagon official charged with dogfighting in Maryland pled guilty to some of the charges against him after investigators found evidence indicating his involvement in the illegal practice for several years. Frederick Moorefield Jr. entered the guilty plea on Friday following an investigation that commenced when two deceased dogs were discovered in a plastic bag of dog food in 2018. Subsequent searches of Moorefield’s residence revealed incriminating items such as veterinary steroids, a blood-stained carpet, and jumper cables suspected of being used to electrocute the dogs.
Moorefield’s co-defendant, Mario Flythe of Glen Burnie, also entered a guilty plea in July. Prosecutors disclosed that Moorefield and Flythe utilized an encrypted messaging app to coordinate dogfighting activities nationally. The investigation revealed connections to a dogfighting ring operating in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where organized fights took place and members wagered on the outcomes.
Authorities found mail addressed to Moorefield inside the bag with the deceased dogs, and a necropsy confirmed signs of dogfighting-related injuries on the animals. Investigators determined Moorefield had housed and trained fighting dogs at his Maryland residence for more than two decades. Moorefield’s brutal methods included electrocuting dogs that lost fights and testing their fighting abilities on a bloody carpet seized during a search of his home in September 2023.
One of the seized pitbull-type dogs had to be euthanized due to extreme aggression towards humans and other animals. Moorefield pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to engage in animal fighting and interstate travel in aid of racketeering, facing a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. Moorefield’s attorney did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the case.