Cape Girardeau man accused of dogfighting to stand trial this week

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. --A former Dexter resident charged in connection with an October 2007 dogfighting raid near Dudley, Mo., will stand trial later this week. Jessey Don Short, 32, of Cape Girardeau was arrested Oct. 21, 2007, and faces five charges of felony dogfighting.

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

A pre-trial conference is scheduled to begin Wednesday and the jury trial is slated for the following Friday morning with two days allotted.

The raid on Jamie Sifford's farm 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 say they recovered a large amount of evidence consistent with dogfighting 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 open dogs' jaws.

Also arrested in the raid were 30-year-old Jamie Sifford of Dudley and 29-year-old Curtis Pickering of South Fulton, Tenn.

Sifford pleaded 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 felony dogfighting, three counts of felony possession of a controlled substance and one misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Pickering faces three charges of felony dogfighting. The charges are punishable by up to 5 years in prison for each charge.

His jury trial has been moved to Dunklin County under a change of venue and is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Jan. 15.