Earl Hamilton, 43, had nearly 3 dozen dogs at his property in a dog fighting ring in Charlotte, NC. On October 23, 2023 Earl pled guilty to felony dog fighting.

The police Animal Care and Control Division responded to a 911 call for animal cruelty that was life threatening at a home on Leopold Place back in October 2021.
It was determined by Animal Control officers that there was justification to obtain a search warrant due to dead dogs. The search warrant was issued and 29 dogs were seized from the property.
Earl was arrested and charged with dog fighting, animal cruelty, and cruel restraint.
In October 2023 Earl pleaded guilty to: 5 counts of felony dog fighting, 12 counts of felony animal cruelty, 12 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, and 3 counts of misdemeanor cruel restraint.
The judge ordered Earl’s six dogs at his current residence to be seized and surrendered to animal control immediately pursuant to the plea.
In addition, all canines currently in animal controls custody belonging to Earl were surrendered to authorities. Currently, there are 26 dogs from this case remaining.
Two dogs passed away due to medical issues and one dog was humanely euthanized due to medical issues.