Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Al Schmutzer, Tracey Stone | | Judge(s): | Ronnie Greer |
Cockfighting - 300 birds seized
Sevierville, TN (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Jun 11, 2005
County: Sevier
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Richard Earl Spriggs - Convicted
» Thomas O'Dell - Convicted
» Henry Donald McMahan - Convicted
» Robert L. Janes - Convicted
» Jimmy Darnell Gorrell - Convicted
» Roger Walter Smith, Esq.
» Derrick Lynn Cureton
» Gerald D. Allen, II
» David Webb - Convicted
» Jefrey C Burney
» Anthony Laughlin
» Danny R Morrison
» Deborah Shults
» Ronnie C Singleton
» Donald Poteat
» Michael Maynard
» Donna Poteat
Case Updates: 15 update(s) available
One of the largest gambling raids in East Tennessee's history clipped the wings of an alleged cockfighting operation on June 11 in the hills of Cocke County. More than a hundred law enforcement officers from the FBI, Internal Revenue Service, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Tennessee Highway Patrol struck the compound in the early afternoon and filed criminal charges against numerous individuals found on the property.
Officials declined to release many details about the raid, including how many people were charged or what they were alleged to have done.
Dozens of men, women and children drove away from the facility after being detained for several hours. Their vehicles bore license plates from counties throughout Tennessee as well as Georgia, North Carolina and other states.
The compound, located in a narrow valley off Happy Hollow Road, contained several large buildings, shacks and campers.
The cockfight's organizers rented rooms in one building for $100 a day, according to one TBI official.
Cockfighting is a blood sport in which specially bred gamecocks are forced to fight each other to the death for the amusement of spectators.
In some contests, razor-sharp metal spurs are strapped onto the birds to make the combat more exciting for crowds.
No federal charges were lodged on June 11, but officials stressed that the investigation is far from over.
"The agencies here were executing a federal search warrant as part of an ongoing investigation," said Neil Smith, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
While Smith declined to discuss how many officers took part in the raid because of "operational concerns," more than 70 law enforcement vehicles were visible at the scene along with three helicopters.
The Cocke County Sheriff's Office and Newport Police Department didn't take part in the operation.
During the June 11 raid, snipers were stationed in the surrounding hills to keep their eyes peeled for suspects who might threaten officers or try to run into the woods.
Armed SWAT team members clad in helmets and body armor stormed the compound while FBI helicopters circled overhead before landing in a field near the compound.
Dozens of state troopers pulled from counties across East Tennessee provided additional manpower, helping to keep the crowd inside the compound under control and directing traffic around the scene.
One man who was attending the event inside the compound when the raid occurred said the agents raced onto the property and then used a loudspeaker to order everyone "to keep their seats."
The man, who declined to give his name, said he had received a citation for "being a spectator" at the event and was ordered to appear in court July 18.
Another man said he heard someone yell, "Here they come!" as the officers stormed the property.
"Everybody was running around this way and that," he said.
At least three ambulances were dispatched up the gravel driveway leading into the compound as the afternoon wore on, but officials declined to say if anyone had been injured during the operation.
The individuals cited during the raid will face criminal charges in state court, officials said.
Fourth District Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr., who was at the scene Saturday, will be responsible for prosecuting the state charges, officials said.
He couldn't be reached for comment.
Numerous cockfighting arenas - known as "chicken pits" - were busted in the East Tennessee region from the 1950s to the late 1980s, but few of the operations have been raided in recent years, according to reports.
Many of the operations were highly sophisticated. Operators decked out their "chicken pits" with bleachers, elaborate lighting systems and even restaurants to make patrons feel more comfortable.
More recently, state and federal authorities have been aggressively pursuing vice crimes such as gambling and prostitution in Cocke County. They have often operated without the assistance of local agencies because of fears that leaks might compromise investigations in the close-knit rural community.
The property raided on June 11 has long been the site of a cockfighting arena and was raided twice in the 1980s, according to neighbors.
An estimated 400 people were charged with cockfighting during one 1988 raid, which was carried out by state authorities, reports show.
The activity is something of a tradition in Cocke County where even the local high school football team - the "Fighting Cocks" - is named after the blood sport.
One elderly woman who lives near the compound said she thought it was wrong for the FBI to raid the illegal business and lamented that "young people won't have anyplace to go now."
"They (the cockfighters) didn't bother nobody, and nobody bothered them," she said.
Authorities didn't discuss what happened to the birds that were found on the property, but a press release from the FBI said, "invaluable assistance was also rendered by veterinarians of the (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and the United States Humane Society."
Court documents also show that on one occasion, up to 700 people attended the fights, which lasted from early evening to early morning. Spectators paid $20 to get in and also could play in high stakes card games.
On some nights, there were up to 250 matches between roosters, with individuals betting up to $30,000.
Informants also reported seeing children at the cockfights numerous times.
Case UpdatesOnce the stuff of local legend, the Del Rio Cockfighting Pit off Happy Hollow Road has been razed, and the property will soon be subdivided into parcels for residential development, according to construction workers who have been clearing the site.
Thousands of people regularly came from across the United States to wager on cockfighting, bringing a steady boost to the area's economy, authorities say. The illegal gambling facility's colorful history included repeated raids by state troopers and a dramatic 1979 holdup during which a band of masked gunmen took $250,000 in cash and jewels from more than 100 customers.
When the rural compound was raided in mid-2005, it featured bleacher seating for up to 500 people, a two-story, windowless, metal building, a concession stand and scores of outbuildings. It was seized by the federal government and later auctioned for just less than $69,000 to a Jefferson County developer who couldn't be reached for comment.
Authorities don't know precisely how old the facility was, but construction worker Ken Green recently estimated that the main building had "been there for more than 80 years."
There were no public utilities connected to the pit other than electricity, he said. Water came from a well, and a septic tank was installed on the property.
"They had electrical outlets nailed to trees out there," he said. "No one in the (utility company) was aware of that, obviously, or it would have been shut down years ago. There were 40-something campers up there altogether with buses, vans. All had been gutted out and were used as chicken coops."
During the demolition process, there were several instances where copper was stolen during break-ins, but otherwise "we were pretty much left alone," he said. | Source: Knox News - Oct 5, 2008
Update posted on Oct 5, 2008 - 11:16PM |
A storied piece of East Tennessee history is on the auction block today in the wake of a six-year federal probe into organized crime and public corruption in Cocke County.
The Del Rio Cockfighting Pit, which operated openly for more than 40 years despite criminal laws banning the blood sport, went to auction today on the Internet, but no one has yet offered to buy the facility.
Although the Web page has been viewed more than 13,300 times and has a minimum bid of $51,000 for the 25-plus acre compound, not a single bid has yet been placed.
The online auction may be followed at: http://www.bid4assets.com/auction/?auctionID=305931.
The former owners of the Del Rio Cockfighting Pit pleaded guilty earlier this year to running an illegal gambling operation and are awaiting sentencing.
Donald H. Poteat, 50, and Michael G. Maynard, 42, face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Poteat's wife, Donna W. Poteat, 41, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor animal-fighting charge and faces a maximum of one year behind bars.
The three defendants, all of whom are from North Carolina, are among more than 170 people who have faced criminal charges as a result of the "Rose Thorn" corruption probe in Cocke County. Donald Poteat is a nationally recognized gamecock enthusiast and former president of the United Gamefowl Breeders Association, a tax-exempt group that lobbies for those who raise and export the birds.
It's unclear how many times the Del Rio pit changed hands over the years, but Poteat bought the operation from Maynard in early 2005. Poteat had served as the pit's manager for several years before the purchase, and his wife "assisted in the operation of the pit, performing such tasks as registering participants," according to court records filed Monday.
The pit was shut down by a massive raid in June 2005 involving SWAT teams, snipers and helicopters. More than 140 people faced misdemeanor state charges following the operation, and the Del Rio property was forfeited to the federal government a year later.
The raid sparked debates at both the state and national levels over the ancient bloodsport. The Humane Society of the United States lobbied intensively to increase penalties for cockfighting, critics of the raid said it was a waste of federal resources, and cockfighters argued that the activity should be legalized.
Although gambling and cockfighting are prohibited under state law, the Del Rio pit had openly operated in the hills of Del Rio near the North Carolina state line for decades.
The cockfights drew thousands of people from across the United States and pumped much-needed cash into the depressed local economy, according to federal authorities.
It's not known how many people worked at the pit, but court records state that there were numerous employees, including "referees, ticket sales persons, concession stand operators" and others.
The rural compound included bleacher seating for up to 500 people, a two-story, windowless, metal building, a concession stand, and scores of outbuildings.
The facility's colorful history included repeated raids by state troopers and a dramatic 1979 robbery during which more than 100 customers were robbed of $250,000 in cash and jewels by a band of masked gunmen.
The pit again came under intense scrutiny as the Rose Thorn probe into corruption in the Cocke County Sheriff's Department got under way in early 2001. Federal officials say the investigation also has uncovered chop shops, drug trafficking, prostitution, extortion and an illegal video poker machine operation.
Thus far, the probe has led to the convictions of seven local lawmen for crimes such as cocaine dealing, attempted money laundering, and shakedowns of illegal immigrants and drug suspects.
Longtime Sheriff D.C. Ramsey resigned early last year after it was revealed by federal prosecutors that he had been targeted by the FBI because of allegations of racketeering and taking payoffs to protect illegal gambling.
Ramsey hasn't been charged, but Patrick Taylor, Ramsey's nephew and former chief deputy, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic in stolen goods. Ramsey's brother, John Dale Ramsey, has been accused by the FBI of operating a restaurant at the Del Rio pit but hasn't been charged.
According to testimony offered in Taylor's case by FBI Agent Thomas Farrow, Poteat and Maynard have cooperated with the FBI and revealed that Taylor tipped them off to the fact that the Humane Society had phoned in a complaint about the Del Rio pit to the sheriff's department in early 2005.
Both Maynard and Poteat were members of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Post No. 4350 in Del Rio, a private liquor-by-the-drink club that moved from Newport to The Shack restaurant complex in Del Rio that was owned by John Dale Ramsey in 2000, according to public records.
For a time, John Dale Ramsey operated a concession business at the Del Rio pit, which is within easy driving distance of The Shack, according to the FBI. The restaurant complex is no longer owned by Ramsey.
The private club's membership roster also included a number of convicted car thieves and drug dealers who have been implicated in the Rose Thorn probe. The club's roster also included then-Sheriff Ramsey, Taylor and several other local lawmen.
The club was stripped of its charter in 2005 after the News Sentinel questioned the international FOE organization about the club's membership. | Source: Knoxnews - May 1, 2007
Update posted on May 1, 2007 - 10:57PM |
The former owners of the Del Rio Cockfighting Pit in Cocke County pleaded guilty today to operating an illegal gambling business and could face up to five years in prison.
Donald Poteat and Michael Maynard also pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one misdemeanor count to exhibiting or sponsoring an animal fighting venture.
Poteat's wife, Donna Poteat, pleaded guilty to an animal misdemeanor fight charge.
The pleas were made before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer.
All the defendants were released on their own recognizance and face sentencing May 7.
Poteat of Morganton, N.C., a well-known figure in the national cockfighting subculture, was a target in a massive federal probe into public corruption, organized gambling and other crimes in Cocke County.
Poteat was the owner of the Del Rio Cockfighting Pit off Happy Hollow Road that was raided by a small army of federal and state agents in June 2005.
The Poteats bought the cockfighting pit in early 2005 from Maynard for $100,000. The property was officially seized by the government early last summer, just under a year after the June 11, 2005 raid.
Federal prosecutors seized the Del Rio pit and the 440 Cockfight Pit near Newport, arguing in court papers that they were massive illegal gambling operations and therefore subject to confiscation by the government.
During the past 20 years, the two pits drew thousands of people to the area from surrounding states and had an immense impact on the local economy, which traditionally has struggled with high unemployment and low-paying jobs, according to federal officials. | Source: KnoxNews - Jan 22, 2007
Update posted on Jan 22, 2007 - 9:23PM |
The Del Rio Cockfighting Pit was "the largest and likely the oldest cockfighting pit in the country," having been in operation since at least the mid-1940s, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
In 1979, seven or eight people armed with shotguns and handguns robbed up to 100 cockfight participants of $250,000 in cash and jewelry. Four people were charged with the crime, one of whom was convicted. Charges against two of the defendants were dropped, and another suspect committed suicide.
The compound was raided at least twice in the 1980s by state troopers and District Attorney General Al Schmutzer's office. An estimated 400 people were charged in one June 1988 raid.
For approximately 20 years, the Del Rio property was owned by a man identified in public records as Harvey Brooks. In 2002, the property was sold for $60,000 to Michael and Alma Maynard of Hot Springs, N.C. Early last year, the Maynards sold the Del Rio facility for $100,000 to Donald and Donna Poteat of Morganton, N.C. Donald Poteat is a prominent member of the United Gamefowl Breeders Association, a tax-exempt group that lobbies for gamecock breeders across the nation.
Undercover FBI agents and cooperating witnesses first began infiltrating cockfighting facilities in the county in late 2002 as part of the ongoing "Rose Thorn" probe into public corruption and organized crime. They targeted two large arenas: the 440 Cockfight Pit and the legendary Del Rio pit. In addition to their efforts to root out organized gambling operations, agents were focusing on longtime Sheriff D.C. Ramsey and other members of his family, especially his nephew and chief deputy, Patrick Taylor.
When FBI agents had compiled enough information to secure a search warrant at the Del Rio facility, they launched a dramatic daytime raid accompanied by SWAT teams, helicopters and scores of state troopers on June 11, 2005. Criminal charges were filed against 143 people who were on the property, and $40,000 in cash was seized.
The "chicken pit" itself was housed inside a 5,000-square-foot, two-story, metal building with bleacher seating for up to 500 people. The compound also contained a 3,000-square-foot, two-story building partitioned into rooms; a guard shack built along the gravel driveway leading up to the site; and approximately 100 outbuildings. The facility also had a restaurant and gift shop that sold T-shirts, caps, belt buckles and other types of memorabilia.
Shortly after the raid, the federal government began legal proceedings to seize the two cockfighting pits, arguing that they were multimillion-dollar gambling operations. The Poteats didn't contest the seizure of the Del Rio pit, and the legal action against the 440 Cockfight Pit's owners is on hold at the request of federal prosecutors because of concerns about jeopardizing the ongoing investigation.
Sources: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee; Humane Society of the United States; staff reports | | Update posted on Jun 14, 2006 - 11:01PM |
David Webb breeds roosters for cockfights, and isn't in the least bit bashful about it. "It's fun, and I'm not being smart. It's just like a lot of fishermen, they spend a lot of money on boats and stuff. They'll catch fish and turn them back loose and to me it's just about like that. I love it," Webb said. That love cost Webb $50 in fines when he and 143 other people were cited to Cocke County Sessions Court in Newport Tennessee back in June. It was for a misdemeanor violation of being a spectator and participant at a cockfight.
Federal agents raided what was called "Del Rio" and said it was the largest illegal cockfighting pit in the country. Agents used carbon monoxide to euthanize hundreds of roosters that they stuffed into large plastic barrels. Webb said "that's what made me mad. They hollered that we're cruel, and it ain't no crueler than sticking one in a barrel and turning carbon monoxide gas on it. Now that's cruel."
Webb added the case did nothing to stop cockfighting in east Tennessee. He said he recently invested another $5,000 for up to 170 new roosters. And along with a friend in a neighboring county they have more than eight thousand birds. Every month they spend hundreds of dollars feeding and caring for them. "Those animals are going to die, period. There's no way around it," according to Guy Bilyeu, who is the director of Hamilton County's Humane Educational Society and is involved with the National Illegal Animal Fighting Task Force. Bilyeu said cockfights promote illegal gambling and animal cruelty among other things. "There are drugs, there are guns there and there are also small children and families there witnessing all of these illegal activities," Bilyeu said.
Webb explained how fighting prize roosters can yield huge cash payoffs. He said people coming to the fights pay entry fees that can be as high as hundreds ot dollars. And as he explained it, if there are hundreds of participants it adds up to a prize well into the thousands. "They gamble on football games and to me it's no different," Webb said.
Fighting roosters have the brilliant red fleshy folds on their heads shaved and their legs strengthened to carry razor sharp blades, according to Webb and Bilyeu. The birds fight until one, or both, ultimately die. Bilyeu said roosters are not natural born killers. "They were not born with blades on their body and they were not born to kill and mame." Bilyeu said roosters can be naturally aggressive toward other males because they are fighting for territory and pecking order for breeding with hens."
But no matter what animal rights advocates say, no matter what police do, Webb said "I don't believe they'll ever stop it." He said many cockfights have now moved from east Tennessee to Virginia and thousands of people still go to Louisiana where it is legal. New Mexico is the only other state where cockfighting is allowed. In Tennessee it's a misdemeanor that in many counties is usually not a high priority for law enforcement unless they want to make an organized gambling case out of the fights.
In David Webb's case it cost him $50. But he has already invested thousands of dollars for new birds to be used in fights that he said will come back to Tennessee. His goal is to be a major breeder and supplier of gamecocks. | Source: News Channel 9 News - November 30, 2005
Update posted on Dec 16, 2005 - 1:14PM |
A grand jury in Newport has indicted eleven people who were cited in the June bust of a cockfighting ring in Cocke (KAHK') County.
A total of 143 people were cited, but most made plea agreements to stay out of jail.
District Attorney General Al Schmutzer says he'll seek jail time for the other eleven, saying those who stood up and admitted guilt deserved additional consideration.
The maximum penalty those indicted could receive upon conviction is a 50-dollar fine and 30 days in jail. | Source: WREG - Nov 12, 2005
Update posted on Nov 11, 2005 - 11:38AM |
Federal authorities plan to file charges against a North Carolina man among 143 people cited in June during a raid at a cockfighting pit, a prosecutor said.
The U.S. Attorney's office was looking at charging more people, Assistant District Attorney General Tracey Stone told 18 defendants during a hearing in Cocke County General Sessions Court on Wednesday.
The case against Gerald D. Allen II of Morganton, N.C., was postponed because he will be charged by the federal government. The state's charges against him will be dropped.
"This is going to be a federal prosecution," Stone said.
Most of the people cited in the raid were in court over the summer and received suspended 30-day jail sentences.
Judge John Bell bound over to the grand jury the cases of the people in court on Wednesday. Three of those people pleaded guilty before the hearing, and four other cases were reset.
"I will try these cases," Stone said. "I will do everything in my power to make them spend 30 days in jail."
SWAT teams, helicopters and dozens of state troopers helped FBI agents serve a federal search warrant in raiding the Del Rio Cockfighting Pit on June 11 and charged people there with being a spectator at a cockfight, a misdemeanor. | Source: Herald Sun - Sept 8, 2005
Update posted on Sep 9, 2005 - 8:21AM |
Prosecutors have wrapped up most of the cases stemming from a cockfight raid near Del Rio, and no new charges are expected to be filed by the state.
"If there are any further charges, they will be federal," District Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr. said.
Most of the 143 charged in the raid in June at the Del Rio Cockfighting Pit pleaded guilty or no contest, and Cocke County General Sessions Judge John Bell heard the remaining 21 cases Monday.
He sentenced 20 people to suspended 30-day jail terms and ordered them to pay a fine of $50 and court costs.
One person at the hearing said he planned to fight the misdemeanor charge.
Other people contesting the allegations are due back in court on Sept. 7 for preliminary hearings.
Federal and state authorities have been investigating numerous alleged crimes in Cocke County since at least mid-2001. They have uncovered drug trafficking, organized gambling, chop-shop operations, the hijacking of interstate shipments, prostitution, corruption and racketeering. Two sheriff's department employees have been arrested. | Source: The Tennesean - Aug 3, 2005
Update posted on Aug 7, 2005 - 6:26AM |
A dozen people entered no contest pleas Monday to misdemeanor charges of being spectators at a cockfight in Cocke County General Sessions Court. They were the latest group of people to appear in court in connection with a June 11 raid on the Del Rio Cockfighting Pit off Happy Hollow Road. More than 100 state and federal agents raided the compound as part of an ongoing four-year probe into public corruption and organized crime in Cocke County.
The people who entered pleas were given 30-day suspended jail sentences and fined $50 each.
Also, a lawyer who was charged during the raid was told that he couldn't represent other defendants in the case as he has initially planned to do.
"There is no way that he can properly represent anyone but himself," Judge John Bell said, noting the possibility that lawyer Roger Walter Smith could be called as a witness.
Smith asked to be recused from representing other defendants and said he would refund his clients their fees.
Citations were issued to 143 people during the raid, most of whom were charged with being spectators. The remaining eight defendants were charged with the more serious crime of participating, but District Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr. said Monday that all those charged with being participants will have their charges dropped to being spectators.
Schmutzer said the state troopers who cited the eight defendants had probable cause at the time to charge them with being participants, but there simply wasn't enough evidence to sustain the accusations in court.
Approximately 100 people have entered pleas in the cockfighting cases, and another court date is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 1. | Source: Knox News - July 26, 2005
Update posted on Jul 25, 2005 - 10:52PM |
A second employee of the Cocke County Sheriff's Department was arrested yesterday by the FBI and charged with attempted money laundering and conspiracy.
Derrick Lynn Cureton, 20, who was working at the county jail, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Greeneville today.
Deputy Larry Joe Dodgin was arrested June 17 after he reportedly bought cocaine from an undercover FBI agent. Authorities say Dodgin admitted to selling drugs and has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a gun during a drug transaction in exchange for information and testimony about crime in Cocke County.
At a hearing in Dodgin's case in June, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Harr said his arrest stemmed from a state and federal investigation into drug trafficking, gambling, chop-shop operations, hijacking of "interstate shipments," prostitution, corruption and racketeering.
Jeremy Scott Jones, accused as Dodgin's accomplice, is also scheduled to appear in federal court today.
Dodgin's arrest came after a June 11 state and federal raid on a Cocke County cockfighting pit that resulted in 143 people being charged. | Source: The Tennesean - July 22, 2005
Update posted on Jul 25, 2005 - 12:28AM |
About 30 defendants, including a Newport lawyer, had their arraignment Monday on cockfighting charges in Cocke County General Sessions Court.
Attorney Roger Walter Smith, 68, who gave a Lawrenceburg address, but has a law practice in Newport, filed a motion asking that interim Judge David Creekmore dismiss the cockfighting spectator charge. Smith argued that the citation issued to him "lacked the essential facts constituting the offense and does not supply sufficient information to provide probable cause."
In response, Assistant Prosecutor Tracy Stone asked the court for permission to amend the citation to include the additional detail, and the motion was granted.
Stone argued Smith should not be allowed to represent other defendants charged with the same offense.
"He should be prohibited from acting as counsel for others because he was at the site and himself was charged," Stone said.
The judge declined to rule on the oral motion, asking the prosecutor to supply him with case law on the issue.
A total of 143 persons were cited into court when Del Rio Cockfighting Pit was raided by state and federal agents June 11. The raid, involving about 100 agents with a cost of about $400,000, was part of a four-year undercover investigation into gambling, prostitution, interstate stolen vehicles, drug offenses and political corruption, according to federal prosecutors.
The defendants arrested in the raid gave addresses from half a dozen states. In court Monday all but Smith entered pleas of "no contest" to the charges.
Local residents who entered pleas are: Richard Earl Spriggs, 62, Spring Hollow Road, Cosby; Thomas O'Dell, 44, Sweetwater Road, Newport; Henry Donald McMahan, no age given, Keisling Road, Bybee; Robert L. Janes, 69, Hem Way, Newport; and Jimmy Darnell Gorrell, 46, Fairfax Road, Newport.
Other defendants are scheduled to appear for arraignment on two future dates. Those who entered not guilty pleas are to have a preliminary hearing Sept. 7. The offense carries a jail term of up to 30 days and a $50 fine plus court costs. | Source: Citizen Tribune - July 20, 2005
Update posted on Jul 20, 2005 - 10:34AM |
Nearly 30 of the 143 people cited during a raid this month at a cockfighting pit appeared in court yesterday, and most of them resolved their cases by entering pleas.
SWAT teams, helicopters and dozens of state troopers helped FBI agents serve a federal search warrant in raiding the Del Rio Cockfighting Pit in rural Cocke County on June 11 and charged people there with being spectators at a cockfight, a misdemeanor. There will be more hearings for the remainder of the people charged.
Of the 29 people who appeared in Cocke County Sessions Court, 21 people resolved their cases with pleas, and eight people requested trials. One person did not attend the hearing, according to a release from District Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr.
People who pleaded guilty or no contest to the charges were given a 30-day suspended sentence, fined $50 and ordered to pay $174.50 in court costs. The defendants were from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and other states. | Source: The Tennesean - June 28, 2005
Update posted on Jun 28, 2005 - 7:01PM |
A first group of defendants in a cockfighting raid are expected to appear in court at Newport today.
More than 140 people were cited in the June eleventh raid on the Del Rio Cockfighting Pit.
Most are charged with being a spectator at a cockfight. The Class C misdemeanor has a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $50 fine.
Eight people are charged with participating in a cockfight. It's still a misdemeanor, but carries up to eleven months, 29 days in jail and up to $2,500 in fines.
The 143 individual cases have been grouped so the court can better handle them.
There are other appearances scheduled in July and August. | Source: WBIR - June 27, 2005
Update posted on Jun 27, 2005 - 7:55PM |
Federal authorities filed "complaints for forfeiture" in U.S. District Court in Greeneville on Friday seeking to seize property in Del Rio and off Edwina Road allegedly used for illegal cockfighting.
According to the lawsuits, the Del Rio Cockfight Pit, as it is known, consists of 25.34 acres, off Happy Hollow Road, and ownership of which was transferred from Mike Maynard, of Hot Springs, N.C., in February, to Donald and Donna Poteat for $100,000.
The second property, known as the "440 Club," or "440 Cockfight Pit," consists of 1.42 acres, off Camber Drive in the Edwina Community, and is owned by Kenneth and Vera Frazier, Highway 73.
The Del Rio Cockfight Pit was the scene of a raid on June 11 by a task force of about 100 federal agents, in which 143 people were cited into Cocke County Sessions Court on misdemeanor spectator and participant charges.
Affidavits filed by FBI agent Thomas Farrow indicate that an investigation of the cockfighting operation has been ongoing for more than two years, and that cooperating witnesses, as well as federal undercover agents, have provided information which led to the raid.
One affidavit states that a cooperating witness observed, in March, 2003, "approximately 182 cockfights at the site one weekend, with spectators gambling $2,000 to $20,000 per fight.
"On April 26, 2003, a cooperating witness attended the cockfights at the Del Rio pit and observed more than 100 cockfights with the displayed total prize money of $20,900 posted inside the fights. The witness observed persons betting on the cockfights, to include 15 to 20 children of approximate ages seven to 15 betting on several cockfights," the affidavit states.
"The cooperating witness observed a girl approximately 10 years old with a stack of $100 bills gambling on several different cockfights," states another affidavit, concerning a cockfight at the Del Rio Cockfight Pit held on March 15, 2003.
The petitions filed in Greeneville on Friday are based on gambling statues, under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000, some of which are based on a Tennessee Supreme Court decision, stated in Johnson v. State, 36 Tenn 614 (1857), which states, in part:
"If one species of this vice could be more low, groveling and despicable than another, it would seem to be that under consideration [cockfighting]. It adds barbarity and cruelty to the other attributes of ordinary gaming. The age has passed when it could be tolerated as a sport, much less as a mode of gambling�"
No date has yet been set for a hearing on the petitions. | Source: The Newport Plain Talk - June 21, 2005
Update posted on Jun 24, 2005 - 9:11PM |
More than 140 people charged with cockfighting-related offenses in Cocke County must come to court to pay their fines.
Several are from out of state and they had intended to mail in their fines for the misdemeanor offenses.
But court clerk Peachie Cody says the offenders face the same legal process as anyone charged with a crime for which they could be sent to jail.
The decision to require personal court appearances was made by David Creekmore, who sat in June 13, for General Sessions Judge John Bell.
The clerk's office has 143 citations on file yesterday. Authorities had said they issued 144 of them when federal and state agents raided the cockfight near Newport. | Source: wbir.com - June 16, 2005
Update posted on Jun 16, 2005 - 11:37AM |
References |
