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Case #4789 Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Cockfighting - 111 birds seized, 17 found dead
Von Ormy, TX (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Jun 11, 2005
County: Bexar
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Johnie Caramillo
» Fidel Palacios, Jr.
» Pedro Vasquez
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
Sheriff's deputies arrested three people on animal cruelty charges and discovered over a dozen dead roosters on the property on June 12. The Sheriff's Department responded to a call on a stolen vehicle at the site in the 20400 block of Texas 16 South, said Sgt. Martin Molina. What deputies found were roosters, more than 30 of them still alive.
"It was apparent that there was a rooster fight going on," Molina said.
Roughly 30 to 40 spectators watching the fights scattered into the brush when authorities arrived, Molina said. Deputies were searching for them in the trees beyond the property as the afternoon wore on.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals collected the animals and assessed the health of the roosters that were injured, Molina said.
Tow trucks arrived to impound the vehicles left behind after the spectators ran.
Investigators planned to use the vehicle registrations to identify the people who fled, Molina said. They also needed to determine if any of the cars were stolen.
The three men arrested included the junkyard's owner, Molina said. They will face felony charges because the roosters were fighting.
Case UpdatesThree men being tried on animal cruelty charges for cockfighting received probated sentences with a hint of jail time Wednesday.
After finding them guilty, Senior District Judge Pat Priest sentenced Johnnie Caramillo, 68; Fidel Palacios Jr.; 50, and Pedro Vasquez, 33, each to two years of probation with 15 days in jail as a condition, 120 hours of community service and $1,000 fines.
Priest didn't forbid the men from owning fighting cocks, but said they must not be in possession of the gaffs or blades typically fitted to the roosters' legs in cockfighting for more deadly effect.
Sheriff's deputies arrested the three men after breaking up a gathering June 11, 2005, on Camarillo's property off Texas 16 South.
Prosecutors said 111 live birds were seized, along with 17 dead ones. | Source: MySanAntonio - May 3, 2007
Update posted on May 3, 2007 - 5:00AM |
On a hot June afternoon in 2005, Teresa Briones went out with a friend who took her to what she at first thought was just a farm in South Bexar County.
Then she saw a group of people circled around a pit and the feathers and wings of fighting cocks rising in the air among them, she said.
Briones wanted to leave right away, she testified Tuesday in the animal cruelty trial of three men, but her friend lingered about a half-hour - time enough for deputies to descend upon the property owned by Johnnie Caramillo, 68.
Caramillo, Fidel Palacios Jr., 50, and Pedro Vasquez, 33, were arrested, accused of fighting the roosters, and are in a non-jury trial before Senior District Judge Pat Priest. They face up to two years in state jail if convicted.
A Bexar County sheriff's deputy, responding to a report of a stolen car June 11, 2005, drove onto the property on Texas 16 South. When people saw him they began to run, some trying to drive off, others scattering into the brush.
Deputy Mark Avila backed his car up to block the entrance, he said from the witness stand, and called for backup.
The deputies called in the help of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and seized 111 live birds and 17 dead ones, according to Assistant District Attorney Melisa Skinner.
Sgt. Martin Molina arrived on the scene after Avila and reported getting out of his car to "lots of noise," between people complaining about being detained and protesting roosters.
Roosters were scattered all over, he said, including in crates in the backs of pickups. There were dead and injured roosters on the site as well, Molina said.
Defense lawyer Ed Bartolomei pointed to a breeding magazine that listed the value of fighting cocks at $500 to $1,500.
"Is it illegal to possess a cock in the state of Texas?" he asked.
"No, sir," Molina replied.
But it is illegal to fight them, and deputies found razor-sharp blades that cockfighters, called "cockers," place on the legs of the birds, as well as something Molina described as a type of "exercise equipment" in one of the shacks on the property.
However, Molina acknowledged, it is not illegal to own such paraphernalia.
Testimony continues. | Source: MySanAntonio - May 2, 2007
Update posted on May 3, 2007 - 3:17AM |
A trial got under way Tuesday in the case of three Bexar County men accused of fighting roosters.
Johnie Camarillo, Fidel Valesques and Pedro Vasquez were charged with animal cruelty after they were arrested at a ranch off Highway 16 South on June 11, 2005.
Sheriff's officials originally went to the ranch to investigate a call for a stolen car, but when they arrived, they found evidence of rooster fighting, according to Sgt. Martin Molina of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, who testified in the trial Tuesday.
"Roosters were scattered all over the place," Molina said. "The vehicles that were lined up alongside, some had big rooster crates. In the back of the beds of the pickup truck, there were some dead roosters close to the patrol car."
The three defendants, who chose a non-jury trial, face a maximum of two years in state jail if they are found guilty. | Source: KSAT - May 1, 2007
Update posted on May 1, 2007 - 10:08PM |
References« TX State Animal Cruelty Map
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