Thread: Cockfighting Raid Results in 145 Arrests

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1175339/

BOYDTON, Va. — State and local authorities raided a cockfighting pit at a Mecklenburg County farm Sunday afternoon and arrested 145 people, authorities said.

About three-quarters of those arrested are North Carolina residents, authorities said.

North Carolina made cockfighting a felony in 2005. It is a misdemeanor in Virginia, and only then, if it is associated with gambling, authorities said.

Authorities were tipped off to the cockfighting ring early last year and investigated the case for seven months in an operation named "Grit and Steel." The bust happened at a facility in the 2000 block of Redlawn Road.

The Humane Society of the United States, officers from the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and the Virginia State Police and agents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture participated in the raid.

More than 126 birds were seized, and others were found dead, scattered around the property. About 10 children were present, including one estimated to be 4 years old, authorities said.

Authorities also seized a large amount of cockfighting paraphernalia, including metal spurs and gaffs; illegal drugs, including cocaine, crack and marijuana; and approximately $40,000 in cash.

Among those arrested, 22 people have been detained by Homeland Security for being in the country illegally; 10 people were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor; and two arrested on charges of identification fraud.

Seven of those arrested were determined to be members of various organized Mexican gangs, Mecklenburg County authorities said.

“By taking down this operation, we hope to send a message to our citizens and anybody from outside our county who thinks they can come here to engage in this criminal pursuit that cockfighters are not welcome,” Mecklenburg County Sheriff Danny R. Fox said in a statement.

“It’s a cruel, illegal activity that acts as magnet for other criminal acts involving weapons, drugs, violence and gambling, and we urge our state legislators to give law enforcement the tough penalties we need to deter this," Fox added.

Lawmakers have introduced a bill in the Virginia legislature to make cockfighting a felony in the state.

Okay, let's see. Cocaine, crack, marijuana, cockfighting, identity fraud, contributing to the delinquency of a child, membership in a variety of organized Mexican gangs, and illegal entry into our country. Homeland Security certainly hit the jackpot on this bust. Now, I thought these were just family folk looking for jobs. Isn't that what LaRaza has told us?

Someone call Mayor Pat McRory and ask him where he will be putting the Bull Fighting ring in Charlotte.

W

Cock fighting and dog fighting is a felony in California too. But the law does`nt seem to deter it much.

I found a pitbull puppy last year and put up poster for it. My phone started ringing off the wall almost immediately and most were Mexicans.
But if they could not discribe the collar it was wearing I would`nt let them have it.

http://www.belleville.com/mld/bellevill ... lle_nation

Posted on Tue, Jan. 30, 2007

Number of cockfight arenas grows as Virginia considers stiffer penalties
Washington Post

When the local sheriff raided a warehouse in southside Virginia earlier this month, he found a dirt pit surrounded by bleachers, dozens of dead or dying chickens strewn about, a concession shack selling beer and soft tacos and at least 120 men and women carrying more than $40,000.

It was an illegal cockfighting arena, one of a growing number that officials say have sprouted up across rural Virginia in the past year. The penalty for cockfighting is lighter in Virginia than in almost any other state. With North Carolina the most recent state to make cockfighting a felony, fans of the bloody sport, many of them Latino immigrants from the Carolinas and the Washington area, are making rural Virginia a cockfighting mecca, animal-rights advocates say.

"We have become a magnet for this," said John Goodwin of the Humane Society of the United States, whose investigative work led to the raid in Mecklenburg County. "These are large cockfighting rings with bleacher seating, concession stands, the works. They are all along the North Carolina border."

The Humane Society has been working for years to increase the penalty for cockfighting in Virginia. A bill that would make it a felony to participate in cockfighting is making its way through the General Assembly, and even rural lawmakers who admit to having attended a cockfight or two say they will give it a closer look.

The issue is a little tricky because most of those arrested this month are Latinos. Lawmakers have been resistant to raising the penalties for a pastime that has been prevalent in rural Virginia for generations. It could be perceived as discriminatory, advocates for immigrant rights say, for the legislature to change its tune at a time when cockfighting among immigrants is attracting attention.

Cockfighting is a brutal pastime in which gamecocks fight in a dirt ring with razor-sharp steel spurs attached to their legs. The 3-inch-long spurs usually cause the death of at least one of the animals.

"We had one gamecock with his windpipe exposed, another with a bone sticking out of his wing and another with a chest wound so bad that you could see his organs moving inside his chest cavity," said Goodwin, who went with officers from the Mecklenburg County sheriff's department on the recent raid.

Cockfighting has been banned in 48 states, including Virginia, not only for its brutality but also because of the prevalence of gambling, often with tens of thousands of dollars at stake. But it continues in Virginia in part because gambling on or charging admission to a cockfight is only a Class 3 misdemeanor -- punishable by no more than a $500 fine.

As a result, although more than 100 participants were arrested Jan. 21 in Boydton, the only ones facing jail time are those charged with immigration violations.

Wonder where your taxdollars are going folks? Wonder where all that PUBLIC ASSISTANCE TO ILLEGALS is going?

Look no further.......

Cockfighting has been banned in 48 states, including Virginia, not only for its brutality but also because of the prevalence of gambling, often with tens of thousands of dollars at stake. But it continues in Virginia in part because gambling on or charging admission to a cockfight is only a Class 3 misdemeanor -- punishable by no more than a $500 fine.

Hope the American taxpayers feel gratified that our dollars are going to a good cause

Well look on the brightside, it's another place to find and arrest illegal aliens. These cockfights seem to attract alot of them. Towns can confiscate the money, arrest and deport all in one stop.

Towns could put the money toward lost revenue and social services, school costs ect.

Thank God that they are just here to do jobs that Americans don't want to do. For a while there, I was getting worried.

Around here they have horse races. They owners that own the property where the races are held tried to get legal and get permits to sell alcohol and concessions at the races but the county wouldn't let them. There was also someone else that bought property in a neighboring county and tried to get the races going in that country too. There was only a minimum maintenance road to the property and that county wouldn't let them become legal either.

I know people who live near where the horse races were held and the trash the spectators leave is awful. Also they do not take care of their animals. It will be interesting to see if the races start up when the weather is warmer. It will be time to get people to call the sheriff and demand he do something as he has ignored them for some time.

Judging by the number of roosters and chickens I've seen in this town I'm sure we have cockfights too. I do call the police everytime I see the stinky birds. The illegals aren't good at taking care of their animals and when I'm out walking I can usually smell them if I don't hear them first.

Originally Posted by Kate

Okay, let's see. Cocaine, crack, marijuana, cockfighting, identity fraud, contributing to the delinquency of a child, membership in a variety of organized Mexican gangs, and illegal entry into our country. Homeland Security certainly hit the jackpot on this bust. Now, I thought these were just family folk looking for jobs. Isn't that what LaRaza has told us?

And if they had not been arrested you can bet they would have been drinking and driveing, probably without a license or insurance afterwards.
The Lawlessness just never ends does it. And they wonder why we are not welcomeing them with open arms!!!!!