Stoddard County dogfighting trial pushed back until July

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — A Stoddard County man accused of felony dogfighting appeared in court again last week to have his case set for trial.

The case against 29-year-old Jamie Sifford of Dudley, Mo., has been reset for trial before Judge Stephen Sharp on Monday, July 7.

Sifford faces 18 charges of the Class D felony of dogfighting, three counts of the Class C felony of possession of a controlled substance and one Class A misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 94 years if found guilty of all charges, depending on whether the sentences would run consecutively or concurrently.

There is one charge for each dog determined to have fought at some point.

The Oct. 21 raid on Sifford's residence was a cooperative effort of the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department, 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.

In February, the Humane Society of Missouri was granted custody of 22 of the dogs seized in the raid and they have now begun adopting them out to qualified individuals.

Currently, the remaining dogs are being housed at the Missouri Humane Society Headquarters on Macklind Avenue in St. Louis while they await adoption. For the time being, the dogs are considered evidence.