NATCHEZ — A Natchez man who pleaded guilty Tuesday to dogfighting charges stemming from a May 2017 incident was released the same day for the 14 months of jail time served along with probation.

Adams County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lt. Cal Green said Charoyd Henrence Bell of Natchez received a sentence of post-release supervision by the Mississippi Department of Corrections for five years with full credit for time served at Adams County Jail where he had been held since his arrest in May 2017.

Bell pleaded guilty in Sixth District Circuit Court. The maximum sentence he could have faced under the old law was either a $1,000 to $5,000 fine or one to three years in jail.

In June, Bell, 37, was indicted by a grand jury for habitual dogfighting, stealing dogs and possession of stolen property.

Green said deputies arrested Bell at his residence at 507 Lasalle St., Natchez, on May 11, 2017, after an anonymous tip.

Deputies on scene, Green said, heard the dogs howling and barking in distress and rescued 14 dogs, including numerous pit bulls that were in poor condition.

Deputies said they also observed 23-year-old Damion Green holding an animal on a leash near the property, and 30-year-old Georgia Ivrione Chatman, who lived at the residence, also was present at the time deputies arrived. Both Damion Green and Chatman were arrested and later faced felony dogfighting indictments following an investigation, Cal Green said.

Damion Green was released on a $10,000 bond and Chatman was released on a $5,000 bond in June, while Bell was held in Adams County Jail on a bond of $25,000. The remaining balance of Bell’s bond was suspended Tuesday with more than a year spent in prison.

Cal Green said the sentence is in compliance with the law prior to June 30, when a bill advocating harsher punishment for felony dog fighting passed in the Mississippi Legislature. Any future cases or violation of parole will be tried under the current law. Cal Green said Damion Green and Chatman’s cases have not yet been resolved by the courts.