Animal Cruelty Charges Filed Against Severn Man For Dog-Fighting

SEVERN, MD — A Severn man faces dog fighting and animal cruelty charges after police found videos on social media that reportedly show him training a pit bull to fight, and the dog mauling a puppy. Anne Arundel County Police arrested Kyle Murray, 26, of the 1800 block of Arwell Court, on April 9 on five criminal charges.

In March, detectives from the Vice Unit received a tip about Murray engaging in dog fighting activity in the 1800 block of Arwell Court in Severn. Investigators say they found a social media account used by Murray that had posted a video showing a young pit bull attacking and mauling a small, white, mixed-breed puppy. Other videos showed the pit bull being trained for dog fighting.

An undercover detective contacted Murray through social media about setting up a dog fight. Detectives confirmed the dog in the video was registered to Murray at the Arwell Court address. An agent with USDA Office of Inspector General helped police and a search warrant was obtained for Murray's residence.

On April 9 police executed the search warrant, and found Murray and the pit bull in his home. Anne Arundel County Animal Control & Care officers took custody of the dog.

The status and/or whereabouts of the puppy seen on video is unknown.

Murray is charged with two counts of animal cruelty, aggravated cruelty to animal, animal cruelty-dog fighting, possess/train dog for dog fight.