LINDEN — Authorities here arrested 17 suspects in a dog fighting ring — and are looking for at least eight more.

“We got them just before the fights started,” Marengo County Sheriff Jesse Langley said. “There were about 25 of them, and when we hit them, they took off like a covey of quail.”

The 17 suspects arrested came from small towns and big cities — from Linden to Birmingham.

“We are still actively looking for the others,” Langley said.

In addition to felony charges for dog fighting, each suspect was charged with possession of a controlled substance — powder cocaine.

Arrested were Taletha Bates, 2693 Pleasant Hill Road, Magnolia; Javoris Conner, 2305 Hobson Road, Greensboro; James Cotchery, 4209 Jackson St., Birmingham; Marcus Hopson, 2410 13th Ave., Birmingham; Ronald Horn, 2814 Abe. G, Ensley; Cedric O’Neal Jones, 4075 County Road 75, Sawyerville; Tyrone lewis, 31 Tree Stump Road, Sawyerville; Tommy Paige, 406 Front St., Demopolis; Terrell Parker, 957 New Hope Lane, Sawyerville; Charles Sanders, 45 Mustang Road, Sawyerville, Tommy Sanders, 213 6th Ave. N, Birmingham; Charles Smith, 200 N. Cherry St., Demopolis; Lewis Taylor Jr., 328 Cinnamon, Linden; Charles Walker, 1209 1st St. N., Birmingham, Allen Williams, 99 Bryant Spur Road, Newbern; James Williams, 2445 County Road 10, Newbern.

The sheriff’s office also confiscated seven dogs brought to the property to participate in fights. The dogs will likely be destroyed following a hearing.

The Marengo County Sheriff’s Department was aided by law enforcement from Sumter County, Demopolis, and Tuscaloosa.