Cape Girardeau man's dogfighting trial postponed

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A trial for a Cape Girardeau man charged in conjunction with a Stoddard County dogfighting ring busted in 2007 had his trial postponed again, according to the Daily Statesman.

The trial was delayed because the case was remanded back to Division 2 on March 23. Jessie Don Short, 32, of Cape Girardeau was arrested Oct. 21, 2007, and faces five counts of dogfighting.

Short, who posted a $125,000 cash bond Nov. 2, 2007, faces a maximum of 12 years in prison if convicted on all charges. The other two men arrested in the case have already seen their cases finished.

Jamie Sifford of Dudley, Mo., who owned the property where the alleged dogfights took place, pleaded guilty to a probation violation and dogfighting. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

Curtis Pickering of South Fulton, Tenn., was also charged in the case. His case went to trial in January and he was found not guilty on all charges.

The raid on 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 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.

A new trial date has not yet been scheduled and no new information is yet available in regard to the case.