Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Keith Gerard Miles, 42, has been sentenced to 18 months in state prison after entering a plea of nolo contendere to two charges related to dogfighting.

The charges stem from video of an illegal dog fight on March 18, 2024, held in the 400 block of SE 12th Terrace. Two dogs can be seen fighting while people in the crowd call them by their names, Stormy and Midnight. Miles is seen holding Midnight at the start of the fight, releasing her, and then is heard yelling, “fight” and “bite” repeatedly.

The dogs were separated at least three times to start a new round of fighting, and both dogs appear to have been injured in the fight. Miles was identified after another person attending the fight made a phone call from the jail and referred to Miles as “Dogman,” a known nickname.

On August 15, Miles entered a plea of nolo contendere to charges of fighting or baiting animals and facilitating a dog fight; a charge of owning a dog used for fighting was dropped as part of the plea agreement. According to the plea agreement, the maximum sentence for the charges is 10 years in prison; Judge James Colaw sentenced him to two concurrent sentences of 18 months in prison.

Other defendants sentenced in the same case

Destiny Carmen Alexis Crowley was sentenced in February to nine months in jail, followed by two years of probation, for charges related to the same case. Last October, Reginald Daunte Davis was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by two years of probation, and Donovan Aubrey Grimes was sentenced to five years in prison, served concurrently with a sentence in another case. In January, Terrence Antwoine Thomas was sentenced to three years in prison.