Case Details

Cockfighting - 91 birds seized, six charged
Jackson, GA (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Mar 6, 2005
County: Butts
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available

Alleged:
» Raul Mireles - Dismissed
» Jonathan Navarro - Dismissed
» Jesus Valdez - Dismissed
» Luis Armando Martinez - Dismissed
» Alberto Cintron Hernandez - Dismissed
» Jesus Solache - Dismissed

Case Updates: 4 update(s) available

Case ID: 4018
Classification: Fighting
Animal: chicken
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Arcade police officers investigating reports of gunshots fired in the South Jackson town Sunday evening found a chicken fighting operation. Ninety-one chickens were found in the pens and open-sided wooden shed deep in the woods on Woodland Court, a dirt road located off of Carruth Road. Blood was found on the ground, as well as bullets and beer bottles. A shotgun and boxing gloves, used in similar operations on chickens before a fight, were found at the scene. Officers also found $100 in cash.

There was no electricity at the site and there was a tree stand, possibly used by spotters to look for people coming on to the property. A mattress and other bedding were located in the loft of the barn. Items found at the barn include tethers to tie the chickens down with, syringes and medication. Two Arcade officers went to the scene at 6 p.m. Sunday through the woods, and back-up officers from the Jackson County Sheriff�s Office, Georgia State Patrol and Georgia Department of Natural Resources were called to the site to assist.

Two pick-up trucks, with more than 10 people believed to be crowded into them, got away, but officers stopped a third truck and charged the five young men inside.

Charged were: Raul Mireles, 21, Norcross; Jonathan Navarro, 18, Norcross; Jesus Valdez, 21, Norcross; Luis Armando Martinez, 23, Lawrenceville; and Alberto Herendez, 23, Duluth. They have been charged with discharging a firearm and animal cruelty.

The property owner, Jesus Solache, 40, Lilburn, was charged on Monday after he stopped by the police department in Arcade. An officer took him to his property, where a search was being conducted. He was given a copy of the search warrant and arrested at the scene. Solache is facing 91 charges of animal cruelty, as well as additional charges.

Solache said he was a �breeder� and was a member of a national breeding society.

It is not known how long the chicken fighting operation has been in place. However, court records show that Solache purchased the 10-acre site in June 2004.

A box in which a live chicken was apparently mailed was found at the scene. It was addressed to Solache and was mailed from Mississippi.

Connie Little, a senior inspector with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, participated in the search. She quarantined the scene and said none of the chickens were to be moved until they could be tested. She counted 84 live chickens and seven dead ones. The dead ones were removed and water and feed were given to the live ones. The eggs were also removed to be tested.

Little said the chickens would be tested for Avian flu and New Castle, which are a threat to the poultry industry. She asked that those at the scene not go into any poultry houses after leaving and to thoroughly clean their shoes and clothes.

Arcade police chief Dennis Bell said the department had received several recent tips of gunshots being fired in the area. Area residents also reported numerous cars going into and leaving the property.

Case Updates

Five men were arrested in March 2005 on charges of animal cruelty and accused of running a cockfighting operation. The day after the arrests were made, 91 chickens were found in pens and blood was found on the ground, along with bullets and beer bottles. State court solicitor Don Moore dropped the charges of animal cruelty, saying the Arcade site was simply a �farm operation.�


Arcade police chief Dennis Bell blasted state court solicitor Don Moore this week after Moore dropped animal cruelty charges against five men accused of running a chicken fighting operation. �Don Moore never went to the scene,� Bell said. �He never sent an investigator. He never did anything. The State Court justice system didn�t serve justice. It is a disgrace when you let this type of thing occur...The evidence is there. It is just a disgrace. There were needles and bottles of steroids at the site. The solicitor needs to do the job or get out.� But Moore said the site was a farm operation, not a place for chicken fighting.
The day after the arrests, 91 chickens were found in pens and a one-sided wooden shed deep in the woods on Woodland Court, a dirt road located off of Carruth Road. Blood was found on the ground, as well as bullets and beer bottles. A shotgun and boxing gloves, used in similar operations on chickens before a fight, were found at the scene. Other items found included tethers to tie the chickens down with, syringes, medication and a box a live chicken had been mailed in.


�There was no evidence of cock fighting at that operation,� Moore said this week. �There was no evidence of cruelty to animals at the site. A cock fighting area involves a ring and a cock fighting area. They were raising chickens. It was a farm operation.�


Bell contended that Moore didn�t do his job in the case. �If this had been in Superior Court, this never would have happened,� said Bell. �Tim Madison (district attorney) would have been out there or sent a top investigator out. Don Moore never bothered to do anything. It took us days to investigate this case. It�s the solicitor�s job to follow up and investigate it-not to plea bargain it down. There were 91 charges...�


Moore said he did follow up by contacting Connie Little, an inspector with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, who was at the Arcade site the day after the arrests. Moore said Little told him there was no evidence of malnutrition or disease with the chickens.
�She also said that three of the chickens were dead and their deaths appeared to be caused by natural animals, such as foxes or even dogs getting through the fence,� Moore said.
The owner of the property, Jesus Solache, 40, Lilburn, was charged with disorderly conduct, cruelty to animals, maintaining a disorderly house, failure to obtain a development permit, failure to obtain a building permit and livestock not permitted. He pled nolo to the charge of disorderly conduct and was fined $273. The other charges were dismissed.
Alberto Hernandez, 23 Duluth, was charged with cruelty to animals and discharging a firearm in the city. He pled guilty to the firearm charge and paid a $273 fine. The animal cruelty charge was dismissed.
Raul Mireles, 21, Norcross; Jonathan Navarro, 18, Norcross; and Luis Armando Martinez, 23, Lawrenceville; were all charged with disorderly conduct and animal cruelty. They each pled nolo to the disorderly conduct charge and were fined $273. The animal cruelty charges were dismissed.
Source: Main Street News - December 28, 2005
Update posted on Dec 30, 2005 - 12:09AM 
Jackson County's state solicitor has dropped animal cruelty charges against five men arrested in March 2005 after Arcade police discovered what they said was a cockfighting ring, according to Jackson County State Court records.
In return, four of the five men pleaded no contest to a single count each of disorderly conduct. A fifth man pleaded guilty to a single count of discharging a firearm in the city limits of Arcade. The five men each were fined $273, according to court records.

State Court Solicitor Donald Moore is not in the office this week and other solicitor's office employees were unable to answer questions about the case.

But animal rights advocates, who pushed for strong prosecution and stiff penalties, say they intend to alert their members about the pleas, potentially leading to a deluge of complaints. "(Moore) or the judge will explain to hundreds of people (who) will now contact him," said Dan Paden, a cruelty caseworker with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The five men were arrested after Arcade police raided a wooded area off Woodland Hills Drive March 6, 2005.
Responding to complaints of gunshots, police converged on the site and found a cockfighting and rooster breeding operation and 91 roosters, including some that were dead and others that were dying, according to investigators and police reports. The investigation turned up needles, syringes and medical bottles scattered across the blood-stained grounds, according to police.

Police originally charged Alberto Cintron Hernandez, 24, of Duluth; Raul Mireles, 22, of Norcross; Jonathan Navarro, 19, of Norcross; and Luis Armando Martinez, 24, of Lawrenceville, with either 91 counts of party to a crime of cruelty to animals or 91 counts of cruelty to animals, according to court records. Hernandez also was sentenced to 12 months, which can be served on probation, according to court records. In his motion to dismiss the animal cruelty charges against Hernandez, Moore said that there appeared to be enough probable cause for authorities to issue the original arrest warrant, but not enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The property's owner, Jesus Solache, 40, of Lilburn, was arrested a day after the March raid when he went to the Arcade Police Department asking about some friends who were arrested the night before. He was charged with keeping a disorderly house, having livestock that is not permitted, failure to obtain a business license, two counts of failure to obtain a development permit and 91 counts of cruelty to animals.
The arrests caught PETA's attention, and the group, on March 16, 2005, sent a letter to Moore asking the case be fully prosecuted and the men be sentenced to jail time if convicted. After learning about the case's dismissal, Paden said he was disappointed.
"I think it's shameful to plead this down," Paden said. "Slapping animal-fighters on the wrist fails the animals, of course, but it also fails you and I and those in the community. That doesn't do much to dissuade them from fighting birds. "These are hard crimes to investigate and (make an) arrest," Paden added. "They happen in tight circles, and they're not easy to penetrate.

It's got to be disappointing when you get what you need for a charge and you don't have your prosecutor back you up."
Source: Online Athens - December 19, 2005
Update posted on Dec 20, 2005 - 11:10AM 
Five men arrested after Arcade police uncovered a cockfighting ring in a wooded section of town have pleaded not guilty to various animal cruelty-related charges and a judge set Dec. 5 trial dates for the men, according to Jackson County State Court records.

The men were arrested after Arcade police raided a wooded area off Woodland Hills Drive March 6. Responding to complaints of gunshots, police converged on the site and found a cockfighting and rooster breeding operation and 91 roosters, including some that were dead and others that were dying, investigators said.

Police arrested the property owner - Jesus Solache - and five other men who investigators say were involved in the ring.

Solache, 40, of Lilburn, is charged with keeping a disorderly house, having livestock that is not permitted, failure to obtain a business license, two counts of failure to obtain a development permit and 91 counts of cruelty to animals.

In addition, Alberto Cintron Hernandez, 24, of Duluth; Raul Mireles, 21, of Norcross; Jonathan Navarro, 19, of Norcross; and Luis Armando Martinez, 24, of Lawrenceville are charged with discharging a firearm within the city limits and either 91 counts of party to a crime of cruelty to animals or 91 counts of cruelty to animals, according to court records.

Meanwhile, charges for a sixth man - Jesus Valdez, 22, of Norcross - arrested in the raid are not on file in State Court. It is not clear if Valdez will face charges in State Court or if his case was resolved in city court.
Source: Athens Banner-Herald - Oct 10, 2005
Update posted on Oct 11, 2005 - 12:57AM 
The owner of a Jackson County property faces a slew of animal cruelty and other charges stemming from a night in March, when Arcade police stumbled on what authorities believe was a large cock-fighting ring involving nearly 100 birds.

Jesus Solache was charged last month in Jackson County State Court with keeping a disorderly house, having livestock that is not permitted, failure to obtain a business license, two counts of failure to obtain a development permit and 91 counts of cruelty to animals.

Solache and at least four other men are scheduled to be arraigned in State Court later this month, according to court records.

A day after the raid, the owner of the 10.3-acre tract of land - Solache, 40, of Lilburn - went to the police department asking about his five friends arrested the night before. While at the police department, Solache told a city secretary he wanted to return to his property to secure it because he was worried about dogs killing his hens, according to a police report.

Police brought him to the property where investigators were searching the site. The investigation turned up needles, syringes and medical bottles scattered across the blood-stained grounds in addition to 91 roosters, according to police.

According to court records, scheduled for arraignment in State Court Sept. 16 are:

Alberto Cintron Hernandez, 24, of Duluth, who is charged with discharging a firearm within the city limits and 91 counts of party to a crime of cruelty to animals. In police reports, Hernandez's name is spelled Herendez.

Raul Mireles, 21, of Norcross, who is charged with discharging a firearm within the city limits and 91 counts of party to a crime of cruelty to animals.

Jonathan Navarro, 19, of Norcross, who is charged with discharging a firearm within the city limits and 91 counts of cruelty to animals.

Luis Armando Martinez, 24, of Lawrenceville, who is charged with discharging a firearm within the city limits and 91 counts of party to a crime of cruelty to animals.

A sixth man - Jesus Valdez, 22, of Norcross - also was arrested in the raid. Charges were not on file in State Court by Thursday, but they were not dismissed, Arcade police Chief Dennis Bell and State Court Solicitor Donald Moore said Friday.

The men initially were charged in Arcade City Court before their cases were transferred to State Court, police said.
Source: Athens Banner-Herald - Sept 5, 2005
Update posted on Sep 5, 2005 - 11:24PM 

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References

Main Street News - March 9, 2005
Online Athens - March 17, 2005
WNEG - Sept 6, 2005

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