Glen Burnie man pleads guilty for role in dogfighting ring

A Glen Burnie man indicted for running the same alleged dogfighting ring as a Pentagon official pled guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to engage in dogfighting and interstate travel in aid of racketeering. 

Under the plea agreement, Mario Damon Flythe faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $500,000 in total for both counts.

Flythe also faced charges, according to the indictment, of buying, selling, delivering, possessing, training or transporting animals for participation in an animal fighting venture, among other charges.

As part of the plea agreement, Flythe must forfeit $2,800 in proceeds from dogfighting.

Counsel for Flythe did not return The Daily Record’s request for comment. The Maryland Office of the U.S. Attorney declined to comment.

According to the plea agreement, Flythe operated a kennel under the name “Razor Sharp Kennels” and used his home to keep, train and breed dogs for dogfighting for several years. Investigators found iCloud records showing Flythe allegedly was affiliated with the same dogfighting enterprise as his co-defendant, Frederick Douglass Moorfield, Jr.

Namely, investigators found Flythe’s phone showed numerous message exchanges regarding dogfighting, primarily using the messaging applications WhatsApp and Telegram, with members of a group known as the “DMV Board” that discussed the breeding and training of fighting dogs, procuring supplies for the maintenance and feeding of fighting dogs, and criminal investigations and prosecutions of dogfighters.

According to the plea, investigators also found through Flythe’s instant messages several exchanges arranging dogfights, where Flythe identified the weight and sex of the dog he wanted to sponsor in a fight and other dogfighters then proposed a fight against their own dog or matched Flythe with another of their contacts who had a dog in the same weight class.

The dogfighters would then agree on wagers and set a date for the fight, typically six to eight weeks after a match was made, according to the plea. After arranging a dog fight, Flythe trained his dogs, using treadmills, weighted collars and other accessories, as well as by employing a diet plan and the use of steroids.

When Flythe sponsored a dog in a fight, according to the plea agreement, the fight ended when a dog died or when the owner forfeited the match.

During a search of Flythe’s residence in September 2023, investigators found seven pitbull-type dogs, including four dogs chained to posts or poles in fenced-in cages in the property’s back yard. According to the plea agreement, investigators found three dogs in large metal cages in the basement.

In August 2022, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted seven individuals and charged them with conspiring with two others to engage in animal fighting, according to an affidavit submitted in support of the criminal complaint and search warrant effectuated against Flythe and Moorefield. In the Eastern District of Virginia indictment, the group contained as many as 28 members at one time.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett scheduled Flythe’s sentencing for Oct. 24 at 2:30 p.m.