Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Steve Wagstaffe |
CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #15332 Rating: 2.4 out of 5
Cockfighting - 150 roosters seized
Half Moon Bay, CA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Mar 7, 2009
County: San Mateo
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Bradford Mark Magpiong
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
A 911 hang-up call led San Mateo County sheriff's deputies to discover a cockfighting ring at the home of a Pescadero man, complete with 150 fighting roosters and a makeshift arena, officials said.
Police received an aborted 911 call shortly after 6:30 p.m. Saturday and responded to a home in the 10400 block of Cabrillo Highway, where they found more than 40 men standing around the suspected cockfighting arena.
Several dozen of the men ran off into a heavily wooded area to escape the officers, but authorities detained and identified the remaining individuals, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Officers released all of the detained men except for 53-year-old Bradford Magpiong, the property owner and suspected host of the cockfighting venue. He was booked into the county jail on suspicion of felony animal abuse. The District Attorney's Office will review the case today and determine whether to file criminal charges against him.
"Cockfighting is a terrible form of animal abuse," San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks said Monday in a statement. "Whenever or wherever we find it occurring "... we will take aggressive action to stamp it out and seek maximum sanctions against the perpetrators."
Sheriff's deputies discovered about 50 roosters on Magpiong's property in several parked cars and also in working transport crates hidden on the grounds, authorities said. Magpiong later admitted to owning about 100 additional
roosters contained in numerous coops on his property, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The roosters were signed over by Magpiong to the Peninsula Humane Society, which confirmed that many of the birds were bred for cockfighting. Also seized were several dozen fighting spurs, syringes and antiseptic that authorities say were used on the roosters, the Sheriff's Office reported.
The Humane Society subsequently euthanized 97 of the roosters that were determined to have been fighting birds, but it is retaining the remaining birds in case their owners claim them, authorities said.
The Sheriff's Office is recommending that prosecutors charge Magpiong with 97 felony counts of animal abuse, one count for each euthanized rooster. He is being held at the county jail in lieu of $970,000 bail.
Authorities later determined that the 911 call that led officers to Magpiong's house was dialed in error.
Case UpdatesA Pescadero roofing contractor pleaded no contest Wednesday morning to charges that he hosted a cockfighting event at his secluded property on the South Coast.
Bradford Mark Magpiong will serve 120 days in jail and five years of court probation for holding the illegal bird fight. The 53-year-old is also prohibited from owning any animals, except for his pet dog.
In March, a Sheriff's deputy traveled to Magpiong's Pescadero property in response to a 911 hang-up call. Arriving at the isolated residence, the deputy discovered about 50 men and more than 130 roosters bred for fighting. Most of the men fled the scene, but officers caught and arrested Magpiong, charging him as the organizer for the illegal bloodsport.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe says that the court gave Magpiong a strong sentence, particularly for a misdemeanor crime.
"I would call this a good sentence," Wagstaffe said. "The probation period is longer than typical, usually it's two to three years. If he does any violation, we can revoke (his probation) on that." | Source: hmbreview.com - May 13, 2009
Update posted on May 14, 2009 - 3:50PM |
The Pescadero roofer charged with cockfighting claims the 97 birds a sheriff's deputy found on his property were brought by dozens of people at the scene for a barbecue, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Bradford Mark Magpiong, 53, was charged with 97 misdemeanor counts of cockfighting â€" one for each bird. Magpiong, who pleaded not guilty during his initial arraignment, told authorities the event uncovered Sunday was not a cockfighting operation but a barbecue and the birds were brought by dozens of guests the sheriff's deputy mistook for spectators.
The Sheriff's Office reported the incident differently. A deputy responding to a 911 hangup call, on the Cabrillo Highway property Magpiong leases from the Open Space District, said he saw a gamecock being weighed in front of a makeshift cockfighting ring. Approximately 40 men scattered when they spotted the deputy. Magpiong was arrested, the birds seized and cockfighting paraphernalia â€" syringes, fighting spurs and antiseptic â€" reportedly found.
The birds were euthanized at the Peninsula Humane Society.
During his court appearance, Magpiong requested a court-appointed attorney and Commissioner Susan Jakubowski dropped his initial $970,000 bail to $20,000.
He was ordered back to court March 20 for a pretrial conference and April 6 for jury trial.
He remains in custody and has a 1996 conviction for misdemeanor vandalism, according to court records. | Source: San Mateo Daily Journal - Mar 12, 2009
Update posted on Mar 12, 2009 - 2:28PM |
New information was released Monday night in a Bay Area cockfighting ring busted over the weekend. However, there is still no hope for dozens of birds taken by animal control.
There are a number of surviving birds of a cockfighting ring in San Mateo County, but the 39 birds are all scheduled to be euthanized.
"Birds that have been raised as fighting birds, really can't become pets. So they can't go into someone else's home or they could stay in a cage like they're in right now, but it would be an awful quality of life," said Scott Delucchi, from the Peninsula Humane Society.
Authorities already destroyed 97 of the seized birds. Deputies made the discovery at a Pescadero home along the San Mateo County coast. According to investigators, that's where the property owner, Bradford Mark Magpiong, had set up a fighting ring. Officers saw as many as 40 men surrounding the arena before they took off running. Magpiong, however, was arrested, and remains locked up at the San Mateo County Jail.
Cockfighting is a misdemeanor, but the suspect has been slapped with a large bail amount -- $970,000. That's $10,000 for each of the 97 birds he owned. Authorities say along with the birds, they confiscated fighting spurs as well as syringes and antiseptic. San Mateo County investigators say they run into these cases a few times a year.
As for the surviving birds, they are scheduled to be euthanized in less than two weeks. Workers at the Peninsula Humane Society say this is the hard part of their job.
"We absolutely see the best and worst in people dealing with animals and this is one of the sad cases," said Delucchi | Source: ABC News - Mar 10, 2009
Update posted on Mar 11, 2009 - 5:00PM |
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