A 44-year-old Tulsa man who ran a dogfighting operation called West Camp was sentenced Wednesday to 210 months — roughly 17.5 years — in federal prison, capping a case that began with a drug tip and ended with investigators finding a dead dog covered in scars and open wounds inside his home. Julius Deane Griffin will also serve three years of supervised release once he gets out.
U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill handed down the sentence in the Northern District of Oklahoma, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. As KOKH reports, Griffin was charged with five counts, including possession of dogs for an animal fighting venture, causing a person under 16 to attend an animal fighting venture, assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm in Indian Country, and tampering with evidence.
At sentencing, prosecutors presented graphic images and videos of injured and fighting dogs, the station’s report notes, including footage that appeared to show a lifeless dog muzzled with duct tape being attacked by another animal. Investigators who searched Griffin’s Tulsa home found 17 pit bulls and other fighting dogs, some with missing or damaged body parts, visible scars and open wounds. One dog was found dead, its injuries consistent with dogfighting.
A Raid That Started With a Drug Tip
The case did not begin as an animal cruelty investigation. Law enforcement officers started looking into Griffin for drug activities in 2024, per the same account, and that inquiry eventually led to the April 21, 2025 raid on his home. According to the Justice Department, the multi-agency operation was carried out by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service and the USDA Office of Inspector General, following the 2024 drug probe that the Creek County Sheriff’s Office had initiated…