GASTONIA, N.C. — A Gaston County dogfighter will spend roughly 7 to 15 years in prison for a 2021 case in which two decomposing dogs were found along Queens Road in Gastonia , prompting an investigation leading to the arrest of a person living in the area.

The case came to a conclusion this month when a jury convicted Rico Pagan, 53, on four counts of felony dogfighting and 13 counts of animal cruelty. The district attorney's office said, along with dogfighting paraphernalia, nine dogs were found, some severely malnourished, cruelly restrained with heavy chains, and bearing scars consistent with dogfighting.

The amount of prison time levied in Pagan's case is not always seen. In 2023, a high-profile dogfighting case out of Charlotte ended with Earl Hamilton entering a guilty plea ( known

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