Four thugs who ran a deadly dog fighting ring from a garage in Essex have been sentenced - with three of them going to jail.
Self-styled 'Dr Death' Phillip Ali trained up the dogs for fighting from the home of couple Billy and Amy Leadley, pumping them with steroids and inflicting gruelling training regimes on the animals. The three, along with Ali's accomplice Stephen Brown, were sentenced on Monday for animal cruelty charges, after a court heard horrific details of animals being ripped apart in bloody fights.
Ali, 67, was was jailed for five years and Billy Leadley, 38, got four while Brown, 57 was sent behind bars for three years and six months. Amy Leadley, 39, was handed a community order including 200 hours unpaid work and a rehabilitation programme. All four were disqualified from keeping dogs for 10 years.
Appalling footage released after the four's conviction in April and originally obtained by The Mirror showed the creatures on treadmills before being forced into savaging one another in the seemingly-average home in Takeley, Essex. The couple had claimed the garage was being used for a birthing pit, but blood spatters revealed its macabre use as a dog fighting arena.
The gang then sent out reports following each deadly fight, one of which bragged about a dog biting another “in the throat” and “shaking hard”. Fitness coach Billy Leadley refereed the underground fights from his home, with reports one dog named Bonnie had suffered terrible injuries to her front legs, with her body never found.
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Billy and Amy Leadley, pictured at Chelmsford crown court, used their home for the dog fighting matches (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
Phillip Ali has been jailed for 10 charges of animal cruelty over a dog fighting ring which left several animals with catastrophic injuries (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)RSPCA vets who later inspected the disgusting set-up said how the animals were kept in "filthy" conditions, while the animals were found covered in scars. Jurors at Chelmsford crown court sat through horrifying details in their trial, ultimately finding them guilty of a string of animal cruelty charges.
Ex-convict Ali, who previously served 10 years for the attempted murder of Richard Cabby in 2005, embarked on the sick world of dog fighting after his release. Ali led the UK arm of the gang which operated across Essex and would travel to Ireland and France for fights.
Ali's phone was said to have a 'goldmine' of evidence which showed the dogs fighting one another (PA)One picture shows Ali with accomplice Stephen Brown enjoying a boozy meal in France whilst celebrating a victory in one "international show" in November 2021. Ali, who nicknamed himself 'Dr Death', would pump the dogs - mostly pitbull breeds - with steroids and orchestrated several matches.
A chilling voice note played to the court during the trial recorded Ali claiming how one dog named Olivia would not have died in the fight had she been given an anti-sickness drug beforehand. He said: “I was telling the boy with Olivia, you’ve got to use a stomach liner, I told everyone to use pepto-bismol no one listened. She lived all that time, then she is throwing up, she is s******g through the eye of an needle because her stomach has all gone ulcerated.”
Phillip Harris Ali (left) and Stephen Brown (right) posed for a picture during a boozed-up celebration meal after a dog fighting victory in France (PA)It was heard how Ali profited thousands from the dog fights, including one match which lined his pockets with £5,000, with multiple dogs suffering catastrophic injuries. Officers who searched Brown's home in Chigwell, Essex, discovered "vet kits" with syringes, IV fluids, skin staples and surgical blades, as well as books on dog fighting.
The convictions come following a three-year investigation led by the RSPCA, uncovering harrowing videos of dogs covered in blood. Many dogs were also shipped abroad in the sick exploits, but were never returned to the UK.
Ali and Brown, both of Chigwell, Essex and Billy Leadley, of Takeley, Essex, will not be eligible for release until at least half way through their jail sentences. Following the sentencing there was a foul mouth outburst from members of Ali's family in the public gallery who shouted "are you alright" before storming out of the court screaming expletives.
Three of the dogs being kept in kennels in the garden of Phillip Harris Ali's home in Chigwell, Essex (PA)Speaking outside court, RSPCA SOU Chief Inspector Ian Muttitt, who gave evidence in court, said: “The mobile phone was a goldmine of information and evidence, including graphics videos and images of brutal dog fights, match reports detailing the results of fights, the gang’s travel plans for specific events, and messages where they discussed preparing for fights, results, and injuries the dogs had suffered. The match reports saved on Ali’s phones went into graphic detail about the injuries the dogs were suffering as a result of these fights.
“In the third fight, Bonnie lost within 25 minutes and suffered two possible broken legs in the bout but continued to fight for her life. We never found her so we have no idea what her fate was. We also found messages that show there was a fight planned for 25/26 March 2022 and that Dotti and Oscar - who we removed from Ali - were also due to fight later in the year, for £5,000 and £3,000 prize pots. Thankfully we rescued them before they were forced to fight again.”
Emma Judd, head of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said following the sentencing: “Most people in this country would be horrified that such a cruel sport could be taking place in their neighbourhoods, and we urge anyone who is even slightly suspicious of similar activities happening where they live to get in touch with us. We promise we will investigate and we will work with the authorities to bring people to justice.
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“We welcome the courts using the new sentencing powers which reflect the severity of the offences, and which the League was instrumental in lobbying government for.”
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