TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Another man involved in a dog fighting ring that stretched between New Jersey and New Mexico has received a federal prison term.
Mario Atkinson, of Asbury Park, New Jersey, received a two-year sentence Wednesday.
Atkinson is the fifth defendant sentenced in the case. All five had pleaded guilty to various felony counts and other charges last summer, and the other four men received prison terms last month.
Prosecutors have said the men participated in dog fights and trafficked in dogs for fights in New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois and New Mexico.
Atkinson had pleaded guilty to sponsoring and exhibiting a dog in a dog fight and unlawful possession of a dog intended to be used for dog fighting.
Four remaining defendants in the case are due to stand trial in October.
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