Cockfighting
Swansea, SC (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Jun 14, 2009
County: Lexington
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Gene Jeffcoat
» Johnny Harrison
» Coy Robinson
» Jimmie Hicks
» Roy Wilson
» Mary Braddock
» Wade McGee
Case Updates: 5 update(s) available
Authorities say a 51-acre property near Swansea was used for organized cockfighting.
Now, officials say they've got the evidence to prove it, but no charges have been filed so far.
A visit to the farm where authorities say the cockfighting ring was found turns up plenty of chickens, but the man who owns the farm says the birds are for testing. However, federal investigators disagree.
"The investigation has revealed a group of individuals who engage in fights on a regular basis during a typical season," said US Attorney Walt Wilkins.
The US Attorney's Office says Gene Jeffcoat, the owner of the farm, is part of the ring.
An undercover officer showed up posing as a fighter with a hidden microphone and camera in tow.
"There would be people who fight the cocks, they would strap knives or other things to chickens and allow them to fight each other to the death," said Wilkins.
Jeffcoat would only say off-camera that his birds are used for testing and not fighting. The undercover officer says Jeffcoat was at the fight he went to and so was a 13-year-old.
An affidavit on the case says the officer, "observed the 13-year-old place two roosters on the ground to determine if one of them had any 'fight' left in it. When it did not, the rooster was killed by hitting it against a tree."
The papers also say there was gambling and methamphetamines on-hand.
"That's part of the problem with chicken fighting, it promotes other illegal activities -- not just chicken fighting," said Wilkins.
Jeffcoat says the feds have nothing on him. For now, he'll keep on farming, tending to his land and tending to his flock.
Case UpdatesA federal judge is investigating possible juror misconduct in a South Carolina cockfighting trial where six people were convicted earlier this month.
U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie called jurors to Columbia on Wednesday to discuss the possibility a juror went on the Internet to conduct research about the case.
One juror testified that another juror brought pages of material from the Wikipedia Web site into the jury room and held private discussions with three other jurors. The other juror said he used outside resources, but denied private deliberations and said he didn't show his printed material in the jury room.
The jurors' names have not been released. Currie says she may not rule on misconduct until July.
Those convicted have not yet been sentenced. | Source: WISTV - May 27, 2010
Update posted on May 27, 2010 - 10:36AM |
The ringleader of a Swansea cockfighting operation and six others pled guilty on Friday for their roles in cockfights in Williamsburg and Lexington Counties, according to federal prosecutors.
Pleading guilty was Gene Jeffcoat, 82, of Swansea, Johnny Harrison, 35, of Aiken, Coy Robinson, 31, of Blackstock, Jimmie Hicks, 23, of Swansea, Roy Wilson, 51, and Mary Braddock, 55, both of Hollywood, and Wade McGee, 34, of Scranton.
Jeffcoat pled guilty to conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act and federal gambling laws. U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said Jeffcoat admitted to making the rules for the cockfighting events and controlling various aspects of the operation, which took place on his property in Swansea in 2008 and 2009.
"I'm not talking about a couple of guys in a backyard throwing down a couple of chickens, letting them go at it," then-U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins said last year. "We're talking about organized groups, engaged in an organized illegal activity."
The remaining individuals pled guilty to animal fighting charges, admitting they participated in cockfighting. The maximum penalty each defendant faces is five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. A judge will sentence the defendants later this year.
The defendants are seven of 23 indicted last November on animal fighting charges. Four defendants pled guilty earlier this month. The cases are the result of a 13-month undercover investigation by state and federal authorities, during which undercover officers attended a total of eight cockfighting derbies held near Swansea in Lexington County and near Oceida in Williamsburg County.
"We had an undercover agent working for the Department of Natural Resources who attended at least 8-10 of these fights, had a lot of those on video," said Wilkins, who went on to say the fights very often resulted in death for the roosters, which wore spurs on their legs.
The remaining eleven defendants are awaiting trial, which is scheduled for April 29.
South Carolina is among 11 states where cockfighting is still a misdemeanor, according to the Humane Society of the United States. While state legislators have repeatedly defeated proposals to make it a felony, they did increase the penalties in 2006. This is the first state and federal cockfighting investigation since that law was signed. | Source: WISTV - April 16, 2010
Update posted on May 27, 2010 - 10:35AM |
Nearly a century after South Carolina lawmakers outlawed cockfighting, prosecutors said Thursday they're taking on the ringleaders to send a message such violence -- still prevalent in rural areas -- will no longer be tolerated.
Meanwhile, an attorney for an accused supervisor said the centuries-old tradition is no more cruel than hunting sports, involves no more money than changes hands than at a college football game, and shouldn't be illegal at all.
"One's illegal only because someone says it's illegal," said attorney Rauch Wise.
In the past two months, nearly 60 people have been charged with cockfighting and gambling at contests in Lexington and Williamsburg counties attended by undercover agents. The 23 accused organizers, referees and money collectors face up to five years in federal prison, while 36 charged in state court face a maximum three-year sentence.
U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins announced two new indictments Thursday: Gene Jeffcoat, the owner of the Swansea property, and Jimmy Collins, vice president of the Game Fowl Breeders Association. The two pleaded not guilty and -- like the others -- were released on a personal recognizance bond.
"Cockfighting has been a tradition in this state and this country since its inception," said Wise, Collins' attorney. Prosecutors said Jeffcoat does not yet have an attorney. A listed number could not be found.
"This is serious organized gambling and serious organized fighting," he said, holding up a razor-sharp spur like those fastened to roosters' legs. "When you put this on an animal, you better take this very serious. ... And if you're going to do it and hold it on your property, we're going to come after your property."
Wilkins also announced the government is trying to seize roughly 90 acres.
"I'm not talking about a couple of guys in a backyard throwing down a couple of chickens, letting them go at it," said U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins. "We're talking about organized groups, engaged in an organized illegal activity."
Authorities say the investigation was launched back in April of last year, and the case broke wide open because of undercover work.
"We had an undercover agent working for the department of natural resources who attended at least 8-10 of these fights, had a lot of those on video," said Wilkins, who went on to say the fights very often resulted in death for the roosters, which wore spurs on their legs.
Wilkins said each person at the cockfight had a specific role. "We had the organizers, those that are promoting the conduct, those that are receiving financial benefit from the conduct that are promoting the illegal gambling side of conduct and we have others who are just spectators," he continued.
The investigation is one of the largest cockfighting busts since 2004. So far 23 people are facing federal cockfighting-related charges. Thirty-six others are facing state misdemeanor charges of attending cockfights.
Contests that pit two roosters in a deathly battle have been illegal here since 1917. But they remain commonplace in a state where the mascot of the flagship university is a fighting gamecock, complete with metal spurs. The nickname stuck in 1902, when the University of South Carolina won a football upset over archrival Clemson, and students of the two schools rioted at the Columbia campus over a drawing of a gamecock crowing over a beaten tiger, said USC archivist Elizabeth West.
South Carolina is among 11 states where cockfighting is still a misdemeanor, according to the Humane Society of the United States. While state legislators have repeatedly defeated proposals to make it a felony, they did increase the penalties in 2006. This is the first state and federal cockfighting investigation since that law was signed.
"We believe it's happening everywhere, a lot," said Attorney General Henry McMaster, noting it's not limited to South Carolina. "Unless you're involved in it, you don't know much about it, and it's hard to believe it's going on."
The state's prior fine of up to $100 was a nuisance, not a deterrent; organizers considered it a small cost of doing business, McMaster has said since pushing for the law change.
"It is not pretty. It is not civil. It is violent," he said, adding he wants to eradicate it. "It imposes damage on the children who watch, who see the violence, who see the cruelty and are there to watch adults participate."
Contents generally involve between 50 and 150 organizers and spectators, with winning purses of up to $30,000 per fight. Gamecock owners pay roughly $300 to enter each bird, and usually bring three to five. Spectators pay $20 to $30 to get in, Wilkins said. | Source: WISTV - Dec 10, 2009
Update posted on May 27, 2010 - 10:34AM |
Three dozen people have been arrested and accused of participating in cockfighting operations in two South Carolina counties.
The Department of Natural Resources says what started as an investigation into illegal wildlife trafficking ended in one of the largest cockfighting busts in years.
"As happens in a lot of ongoing investigations, one thing can lead to another," said DNR spokesperson Lt. Robert McCullough.
Attorney General Henry McMaster said Friday the cockfighting operations were being run in Lexington and Williamsburg counties.
"Officers were present on more than one occasion and were able to witness these events going on," said McCullough.
The arrest warrants come two weeks after federal authorities charged 21 people in connection with the same 13-month investigation.
McCullough calls it the largest bust since 2004, when then-Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Sharpe was found guilty of extortion and lying to authorities in an effort to protect a cockfighting ring.
McMaster hopes the warrants will send a message that one of the state's oldest and most brutal traditions must come to an end.
"Cockfighting is a crime that leaves an ugly scar on our community," McMaster said. "The criminal underworld surrounding it is a haven for drugs, violence, and gambling."
Those charged in Lexington County include:
* Jorge Rolando Veliz-Quintero, Fremont, NC
* Noe Veliz-Quintero, Fremont, NC
* Gerald Allen Smith, Eutawville, SC
* Harold Dean Johnson, Martin, SC
* David Lee Dyal, North, SC
* Bobby Joe Green, Chester, SC
* Wilborn A. Timms Jr., Abbeville, SC
* Earl Gray Martin, Gaffney, SC
* Johnny Hampton Way, Cordova, SC
* Roosevelt Curry, North Augusta, SC
* William J. Manley, Gray Court, SC
* Will Dee Lambert, Georgetown, SC
* Wyman Raye Murphy Jr., Cope, SC
* Kevin Dwayne Grice, Iva, SC
* Larry Wayne Ashley, Honea Path, SC
* Eddie Randal Morgan, Edgemoor, SC
* Gary Martin Gregory, Gilbert, SC
* Charles David Cobb, Waterloo, SC
* Billy Pierce Plummer, Hartsville, SC
* James Frank Howard, Georgetown, SC
* James D. Tate, Inman, SC
* Johnny Joseph Harrison, North Augusta, SC
* George Doyle O'Bryant, Spartanburg, SC
* Charles L. Peeler, Gaffney, SC
* James Bryant Rayfield, Clover, SC
* Chad Cable, Neeses, SC
* Howard Daniel Barton, Warrenville, SC
* James Edward Haskins, Blackville, SC
Those charged in Williamsburg County include:
* Noe Veliz-Quintero, Freemont, NC
* Jorge Rolando Veliz-Quintar, Freemont, NC
* Jerome David Benenhaley II, Pinewood, SC
* Barry Walter M. Limehouse, St. George, SC
* Oscar Chappell Lemmon III, Ladson, SC
* Laurie G. Johnson, Salters, SC
* Robert Wesley Wilson, Andrews, SC
* Rocky Edwin Booth, McColl, SC
* Cody James Davis, Andrews, SC
* Elbert Eugene Milligan, McColl, SC
In 2005, McMaster led an effort to increase the state's maximum penalty for cockfighting from 30 days to one year imprisonment for a first offense. A second or subsequent offense now carries a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment.
All offenses will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office. | Source: WISTV - Nov 20, 2009
Update posted on May 27, 2010 - 10:32AM |
Federal authorities say 21 people have been charged for their roles in cockfighting businesses operating in South Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins said Wednesday that undercover officers attended eight cockfighting events in Lexington and Williamsburg counties during a yearlong investigation.
The three indictments accuse the group of operating an unlawful animal fighting venture and an illegal gambling business. Authorities also say they conspired to violate the Animal Welfare Act by staging or participating in cockfighting contests.
Indictment on charges in Lexington County were:
* Nancy Elizabeth Dial, 52, of North
* Sheri M. Hutto, 48, of Pelion
* Wayne Hugh Hutto, 60, of Pelion
* Michael Monroe Grooms, 54, of Gilbert
* Michael T. Rodgers, 57, of Kingstree
* Leslie Wayne Peeler, 41, of Gaffney
* Jeffrey Brian Gibert, 38, of Ninety Six
* Gerald Benfield, 57, of York
* Johnny Junior Harrison, 35, of Aiken
* John Carlton Thurman Hoover, 39, of Pelion
* Coy Dale Robinson, 31, of Blackstock
* Scott Edward Lawson, 41, of Laurens
* Jimmie Jesse Hicks, 23, of Swansea
* George William Kelly, 44, of Kershaw
Indicted on charges in Williamsburg County were:
* Roy Wilson Braddock, 51, of Hollywood
* Mary Durden Braddock, 55, of Hollywood
* Jonathan Leviner, 38, of Sumter
* David Earl Davis, 45, of Andrews
* Buster Dale Moore, 61, of Andrews
* Wade Timmons Mcgee, 34, of Scranton
* Charles E. Allbritton, 66, of Mt. Pleasant
Conspiracy, operating an unlawful animal fighting venture and operating an illegal gambling business carry up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each charge. | Source: WISTV - Nov 4, 2009
Update posted on May 27, 2010 - 10:32AM |
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