Cockfighting - 13 birds seized Laurel, DE (US) Incident Date: Sunday, Jan 22, 2006 County: Sussex Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Case Images: 3 files available Abusers/Suspects: » Rigoberto Perez - Alleged » Gabino P. Trujillo » Rosalio Trujillo Case Updates: 4 update(s) available

Case ID: 7096 Classification: Fighting Animal: chicken View more cases in DE (US) Login to Watch this Case

Only four or five men were supposed to show up at Rigoberto Perez's home for some cockfights in his backyard, the 70-year-old told animal enforcement officers.

But by 11:30 a.m., more than three dozen men -- some with caged gamecocks in hand -- were gathered in the backyard of Perez's home east of Laurel.

About the same time, SPCA animal control officer Jerome Harris happened to drive by the house in the 32000 block of Whaleys Road on his way to check out an unrelated animal complaint. He noticed the large crowd standing in a circle behind the house. Then he spotted a gamecock running loose.

Harris called the SPCA's Georgetown shelter supervisor, Lt. Gerry Linkerhof, and asked him to come out, Delaware SPCA executive director John E. Caldwell said.

The cockfight had not yet started on Jan 22 when Linkerhof and Harris moved in, and spectators and gamecock owners quickly scattered. According to court records, some of the men grabbed wooden crates with gamecocks in them and attempted to hide them in the outbuildings on Perez's property.

Others ran off or jumped into their vehicles -- which had license plates from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the District of Columbia, Caldwell said.

Harris and Linkerhof seized 13 gamecocks as well as assorted fighting paraphernalia on the property. Perez was arrested under the state's animal cruelty statute Tuesday on felony charges of maintaining a residence for cockfighting.

He was released on $500 unsecured bail and faces a Feb. 2 hearing in Sussex County Court of Common Pleas.

According to court records, he told investigators in a video interview that he had made arrangements with a friend for four or five people to attend. Things got out of hand when 35 to 40 people showed up, he told investigators.

If convicted of the felony charge, Perez could face up to a $5,000 fine and three years in prison. He also could be prohibited from owning an animal in the state for 15 years.

Caldwell said state police searched for the fleeing suspects with a helicopter but didn't locate any of them.

In addition to the gamecocks, which are being held as evidence at an animal shelter, the animal control officers seized a scale, a box with 32 razor-sharp spurs -- designed to be fitted on the birds' legs to puncture and mutilate opponents -- and other equipment, according to court records.

National animal rights experts say each cockfight usually results in the death of one bird and the maiming of the other. The gambling exhibitions can generate thousands of dollars in wagers, and law enforcement officials say the sport has been linked to illegal drug distribution and other forms of criminal activity or violence.

"Any money, equipment or birds confiscated is automatically forfeited to the state," Caldwell said Wednesday.

He said any spectators caught watching any of the events could be charged with a misdemeanor for attending.

Sunday's was the first cockfight SPCA officers have raided in Delaware in several years, Caldwell recalled. "They told us it was a barbecue," he said.

John Goodwin, deputy manager of animal-fighting issues with the Humane Society of the United States, said there are about 20,000 active cockfighters in this country, mostly in the South, California, Hawaii and Virginia

"The cockfighting industry is interesting," Goodwin said. "It's an organized world of criminals."

Cockfighting is illegal in just about every state, Goodwin said. Nationally, the federal Animal Welfare Act prohibits carrying birds between states to use in cockfighting.

Federal lawmakers are also working to pass the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, which raises the penalties for animal fighting from a misdemeanor to a felony, he said. A bill has passed the Senate, and the House version has 206 co-sponsors.

Pattrice Jones, co-director of the Eastern Shore Chicken Sanctuary, which rehabilitates roosters that have been used in cockfighting, said cockfighting is a big business and is still known to occur in the Delmarva area.

It has been some time, however, since any former fighting gamecocks have been brought to the sanctuary in Princess Anne, Md.

"The men who participate in cockfighting are very devoted to the sport and definitely will travel," Jones said. "There's a lot of moneymaking in terms of gambling and for the people who breed the birds."

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References

	Delaware Online - Jan 26, 2006
	Delaware Online - Jan 28, 2006

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