Counting 'em Down: For better or for worse, this is the Headline Surfer countdown of 2021's Top 100 biggest news stories of Central Florida along the tourism-driven stretch of Interstate 4 (Orlando Attractions and east to I-95 & the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona). Each recap segment is posted with its own headline, culminating with the unveiling of No. 1, before switching to the Top 5 storylines -- the good, the bad & the ugly on the horizon in "2022: The Year That Lies Ahead."
Photos for Headline Surfer / Benjamin Ponder, 33; Earl Holmes, 50; and Noble Geathers, 53; were arrested on multiple felony charges including animal cruelty and animal fighting back in March. More than 40 pit bulls were rescued from squalid conditions.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Three men were arrested on multiple felony charges including animal cruelty and animal fighting after Daytona Beach cops busted a dogfighting ring back in early March and rescued more than 40 pit bulls.
Daytona Beach police were assisted in the operation by Volusia County’s Animal Services Division, the Halifax Humane Society, the City of Daytona Beach’s Animal Control Unit, and the city's Code Enforcement Division that resulted in the felony arrests of 53-year-old Noble Geathers, 50-year-old Earl Holmes, and 33-year-old Benjamin Ponder.
All these charges came after DBPD obtained search warrants from a Volusia County judge to enter the properties on 225 & 227 Reva Street as well as an adjacent vacant lot during the early-morning hours of Feb. 22, 2021. A fence that had been put up illegally inside the vacant lot was torn down, allowing officers access to the dogs.
Investigators found 42 pit bulls – 24 adults and 18 puppies – living in those properties, most of them being kept outside in small kennels made of wood and wire, car carriers or chained to car axles with little or no access to clean water or food. Many of the females were breeding new puppies for fighting.
"Some of those dogs had no access to shelter and a lot of the ones that did were living in areas that were caked with urine and feces," Daytona Beach Police PIO Messod Bendayan told Headline Surfer in an email media alert. "Many of the dogs wore collars which had to be cut off because of how tight they fit. A good number of the dogs were found with healing cuts or wounds on their bodies which are consistent with dogfighting."
"Some of those dogs had no access to shelter and a lot of the ones that did were living in areas that were caked with urine and feces," Daytona Beach Police PIO Messod Bendayan told Headline Surfer in an email media alert. "Many of the dogs wore collars which had to be cut off because of how tight they fit. A good number of the dogs were found with healing cuts or wounds on their bodies which are consistent with dogfighting."
Daytona Beach cops also found medical records for the dogs which were maintained by the defendants along with various kinds of dog supplements and medications, including a type of medicine that is commonly used in organized dogfighting to boost red cell production as well as stamina and endurance.
All the puppies (seven females, 11 males) and adult pit bulls (20 females, four males) were removed from the premises and taken to Halifax Humane Society for safekeeping, pending court hearings to permanently confiscate the dogs so they can be cared for pending possible adoptions to good homes.
Geathers – who detectives believe was the ringleader – is facing 35 charges, including 24 counts of animal fighting, 10 counts of felony cruelty to animals, and one count of practicing veterinary medicine without a license. He was booked at Volusia County Jail on March 9, 2021, and has since posted bond.
Ponder was facing the same charges as Geathers plus one count each of possession of cannabis with intent to sell, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, and driving with a suspended/canceled/revoked license. He was booked at Volusia County Jail on March 6, 2021, and has since posted bond.
Holmes was charged with 10 counts of practicing veterinary medicine without a license and 10 counts of felony cruelty to animals. He was booked at Volusia County Jail on March 3, 2021, and has remained there ever since on unrelated felony charges.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.