Man accused of selling pit bull for dogfighting heads to trial

By John Counts Crime and courts reporter

Posted on Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 4:32 p.m.

Gayland Tomlin, 28, the man accused of selling a pit bull puppy to an uncover officer for dogfighting purposes, was given pretrial and trial dates in the Washtenaw County Trial Court Monday.

Judge Melinda Morris set a pretrial date of Aug. 20 and a trial date of Sept. 10 for the case.

The Ypsilanti Township man is charged with two counts of offering to buy or sell an animal for fighting and two counts of possessing any device or equipment intended for use in the fighting of an animal.

Tomlin faces a maximum of four years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.

Details of the dogfighting sting came out in a preliminary examination in May when cruelty investigator Elise Ramsey of the Humane Society of Huron Valley testified she made contact with Tomlin under a different name in January. A few weeks later, Ramsey went to Tomlin’s home in the 1300 block of Nash Avenue and purchased a pit bull puppy.

At that time, Tomlin allegedly attempted to demonstrate the dog’s fighting ability for Ramsey and an undercover deputy from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities serving a search warrant in February found two dogs - one of which was the mother of the puppy Tomlin allegedly attempted to sell the undercover officers - which were so aggressive they needed to be euthanized.

The puppy and its sibling have since been given new homes through adoption.

Tomlin is not currently lodged in the Washtenaw County Jail.