Davie man accused of running illegal puppy mill after SWAT team visits
FORT LAUDERDALE - A Davie man is facing more than 180 animal cruelty and drug charges after investigators reportedly found he and another person were running an illegal puppy breeding operation.
Sean Brodnax appeared in bond court Thursday with a judge reading from a police affidavit.
"You have 25 cruelty causing pain, death or suffering to animals," the judge said. "You have 25 counts of unlawful confinement abandonment of animals."
Brodnax was ordered held on $133,000 bond with the court ruling that he cannot have any animals in his possession if he is able to post bail.
The suspect's defense attorney argued he did believe there was merit to the charges.
"The defendant was breeding dogs in his house, all this relates to 25 dogs in the house, which is not unusual for someone who's breeding dogs," the lawyer said. "I think this is going to show somewhat a piling on because of the drug charges."
On Sept. 13, Broward sheriff's deputies, Davie police, and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms served a warrant at Broadnax and Danielle Palladino's mobile home.
Surveillance video showed the SWAT team going into Brodnax's mobile home to serve a search warrant related to a drug investigation.
Video shows police walking him in handcuffs and then taking him down to the ground.
While inside court documents say police found a "trafficking amount of fentanyl pills and approximately a kilo of cocaine powder mixed fentanyl..." and the report says they found "numerous fire arms including an AK-47."
Investigators also found 25 French bull dogs mixed with pit bull, and the animals were featured on an Instagram page.
Police say this was an "...unsanitary and illegal puppy mill..." alleging some of the dogs were in "...inhumanely small cages..."that "...did not allow for the dogs to either move or turn around."
Police removed the dogs from the home with some walking on leashes while others carried out, with police noting "most of the dogs had trouble walking or could not walk."
Investigators said the smell was overwhelming.
"Upon entering the respondents' trailer, a strong stench of feces was immediately noticeable to the officers that made them gag," according to court documents.
The dogs were seized and taken to Broward Animal Care.