One of South Florida’s most prominent dogfighters and trainers has been fired from his teaching post at Boyd H. Anderson High School, a little more than a month after he was sentenced to two years probation.
Alex Benefield, of Deerfield Beach, had been involved in the dogfighting realm since 2014 and was well-known as one of the “top” in the region, according to a federal criminal complaint. The FBI raided Benefield’s home and the home of another prominent fighter and trainer Tramaine Marvin Randall, of Pompano Beach, about a year ago, finding over 40 caged dogs, many of them wounded. Both men were arrested on charges of running an animal fighting venture.
The FBI investigated Benefield and Randall through a confidential source who used to be involved in dogfighting more than a decade ago and had known both men for years, the criminal complaint said. The source met with Benefield at his home in Deerfield Beach in February 2023 where Benefield bragged about training animals for other well-known dogfighters and on another date showed a video of a dog killing and eating another animal in his yard.
One of the dogs found during the raid on Alex Benefield’s Deerfield Beach home in January 2025. Benefield, who was considered one of South Florida’s biggest dogfighters, was sentenced in December 2025 to two years of probation.(FBI/Courtesy)
At another meeting at Benefield’s home in December 2024, Benefield told the FBI source he had just participated in a fight in Broward County days earlier and withdrew the dog because it was getting too badly injured, the complaint said.
He pleaded guilty in September 2025 to two counts of possessing, training and receipt of a dog for use in an animal fighting venture as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
US government seeks ownership of over 40 pit bulls tied to Broward dogfighting ring
Several employees at Boyd Anderson, including the principal, submitted letters on his behalf prior to his sentencing in December, citing his mentorship of young people as a football coach and later an automotive instructor at the school.
School Board members approved the termination at Wednesday’s meeting.