Lombard man gets 60 days in jail for dogfight

A Lombard man pleaded guilty Monday to a single dogfighting charge in exchange for prosecutors dropping two other criminal complaints related to the May incident.

Robert G. Kollman, 21, of the 300 block of North Grace Street, was sentenced to 60 days behind bars, 24 months probation and required to make a $500 donation to the Hinsdale Humane Society.

In exchange for the plea, DuPage County prosecutors dropped charges of promoting a dogfight and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Police were called to Kollman's house about 2:45 a.m. May 23, 2009, after receiving complaints from neighbors about the sounds of two dogs fighting. Authorities said Kollman and another man, 22-year-old Lombard resident Brian A. Moll, were egging on two pit bulls in front of a small crowd in Kollman's back yard.

The dogs, named Rampage and Ace, belonged to Kollman and Moll respectively, prosecutors said.

Police had to use Tasers to separate the animals. Both dogs survived the fight, but Ace eventually was euthanized, authorities said.

The fight was staged after the two men argued over whose dog was tougher, prosecutors said.

Moll pleaded guilty in July to dogfighting charges and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

At Kollman's hearing Monday, Prosecutor Mary Cronin also asked Judge Daniel Guerin to forbid Kollman to have any unsupervised contact with Rampage for two years once he is released from jail. The judge agreed.

Kollman's lawyer, George Kallas, said Rampage is living with Kollman's parents at the same house where the fight occurred in Lombard. Kollman's mother had sought the animal's return months ago, saying it was her dog and was unaware of her son's plans to stage the fight while she was out of town.

Kallas had sought leniency for Kollman, arguing there was no evidence of an organized dogfighting operation such as pens, treadmills, weights, chains, medicine, bait animals or promotional material.