Times Staff Report

LYNWOOD | Police say a 42-year-old Sauk Village man faces animal cruelty charges after investigators found 21 pit bulls chained in a field Monday behind a Lynwood home.

Harry F. Starks faces 21 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and 21 counts of misdemeanor animal neglect in connection with the discovery, which Lynwood police made following a tip from a village resident, according to a Lynwood Police Department news release.

Starks, who is free on bond, is scheduled to appear for a June 11 hearing in Cook County Court in Markham, the news release said.

Starks' bond amount was not immediately available, Cook County state's attorney's office spokesman Tandra Simonton said.

A call to Lynwood Police Chief Russell Pearson was not returned.

Police arrested Starks after he returned home to find Lynwood police officers, officials from the Cook County Sheriff's Department and the Cook County Animal Control Department and the humane society and animal welfare workers on the property, the news release said.

The investigators arrived after a village resident saw 15 dogs chained in a field behind a residence in the 3500 block of Glenwood-Dyer Road, and called police, the news release said.

Investigators found 15 pit bulls -- about 200 yards from the road and not visible to motorists -- secured with short, heavy chains in a horse pasture, the news release said. The dogs had no food or water within reach, but appeared healthy, the news release said.

About 100 yards to the southwest, police found six more dogs, and in the residence police found items related to dog fighting and exercise equipment, the news release said.

The animals were removed to local shelters, the news release said.