FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a 46-year-old man on Wednesday after accusing him of not properly caring for 23 dogs that were at his family home in Oakland Park.
On Thursday, Broward County prosecutors filed a third-degree felony case with 41 charges against Jamar Clair, a convicted felon who was born in Fort Lauderdale and lives in Oakland Park, records show.
Clair is “believed to be the owner of 9 adult pitbull and pitbull mix dogs, 14 pitbull puppies/dogs estimated to be between 3-4 weeks old,” a deputy wrote, according to an arrest report in the case.
Clair refused to appear in bond court on Thursday morning. Broward County Circuit Judge Corey B. Friedman, who was presiding, allowed his relatives to speak during the bond court hearing.
“My dad is a caring and supportive person ... Those were not his dogs, and I do not believe that he harmed any animals,” Clair’s daughter Jamilia Clair told Friedman in court.
Relatives said Clair was doing the dogs’ owner a favor. A prosecutor told Friedman during the hearing that “once someone accepts the responsibility of caring for animals, it is their responsibility whether they were the original dog owner or not.”
Friedman said BSO deputies reported Clair refused to cooperate during the investigation, and he ordered him to stay away from animals.
“This was going on for months involving many different dogs,” the prosecutor told Friedman.
Deputies reported there was a “strong odor of animal feces” inside Clair’s house and “piles of dog feces” in the yard, according to the deputy’s arrest report.
“Some of the dogs you could see their rib cage. One of the pit-bull dogs had a severe eye infection,” a deputy wrote, according to the report.
A deputy reported there were 13 puppies inside a medium-sized cage.
“The cage had no water, and fresh feces scattered throughout,” the deputy wrote. “The inside was so small the puppies were having to climb over each other.”
Deputies reported visiting the house and returning the next day to learn that someone had removed 14 puppies and three adult dogs, and there were still four adult dogs in the backyard and two adult dogs inside.
“There was still evidence of ongoing abuse and neglect,” a deputy wrote, according to the arrest report.
Clair was the subject of animal control complaints in the last few years. On July 28, 2025, Broward County’s Animal Care Division issued Clair a citation for cruelty to animals in Fort Lauderdale, according to court records. The case remained open on Thursday.
“A dog was tethered on a short chain, kept in a crate outside, sores on the ears, and flies all over him,” a deputy wrote about a visit to the house in 2025, according to a deputy’s report.
In 2024, the Broward County Animal Care removed a puppy and three adult dogs from Clair’s home that were neglected, according to an arrest report.
The Florida Department of Corrections released Clair from prison on Oct. 17, 2020, after he was convicted of a robbery in Broward County and sentenced to six years and eight months in prison, records show.
On Thursday evening, Clair was at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale.
Clair is facing 18 counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, a third-degree felony.
Clair is also facing 23 counts of tormenting, depriving of sustenance, mutilating, or killing an animal, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Clair’s bond was $75,500. Broward County Circuit Judge Francis I. Viamontes was set to preside over the case.
Watch the bond court hearing
Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.
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