Thread: 63 accused of illegal cockfighting in OR & WA

face gambling or drug charges
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
BRYAN DENSON
The Oregonian
The U.S. government unsealed indictments Monday that accuse 63 people of taking part in a vast blood sport operation, staging a dozen cockfight derbies in rural outposts across Oregon and Washington the past two years.

Each of the clandestine derbies featured a series of cockfights, with promoters arranging bouts and taking cuts of about 10 percent, according to court records. "Pitters" handled birds in the fighting pits, referees called the fights, concessionaires hawked beer and food, and spectators made side bets, the government alleges.

Fighting birds that won all their bouts -- often crippling or killing opponents with knives or gaffs attached to their legs -- were declared winners, and top purses sometimes reached into the tens of thousands of dollars.

U.S. Attorney Karin Immergut, Oregon's chief federal prosecutor, described the case as the largest of its type in the Northwest and the region's most expansive investigation into alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

"Cockfighting is a brutal sport, and it also has strong ties to other kinds of criminal activities, such as gambling and drug dealing," Immergut said. "It carries serious public health risks, and it's a classic case of cruelty and abuse of animals."

According to 17 indictments filed in the case, 51 people had various roles in violating the federal Animal Welfare Act by sponsoring, exhibiting, transporting and gambling on fighting cocks, often after traveling over state lines.

The first of the cockfighting derbies took place in Molalla on March 11, 2006, and the last four were held in Grand Ronde between June 23, 2007, and Jan. 12, 2008. Other derbies were held in the Oregon towns of Warm Springs, Woodburn and Sunny Valley and the Washington towns of Wapato, Sunnyside and Prosser.

Five of the men accused of taking part in the cockfights also are accused of taking part in drug trafficking organizations, using the gatherings to promote the sale of cocaine and methamphetamine, said Kenneth Wolters, resident agent-in-charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Salem office.

Sometimes, Wolters said, they used money from drug sales to bet on the birds.

Huge task force

A mammoth task force of federal, state, county and city police agencies -- more than 500 law enforcement officers and support staffs -- took part in some aspect of the two-year investigation and weekend raids in both states. The investigation was dubbed "Operation Red Rooster" in Oregon and "Operation Tattered Wing" in Washington.

At 6 a.m. Saturday, police swept into 28 homes and barns from southern Oregon to the Puget Sound. They seized more than 700 roosters in Klamath County, at least $100,000 in cash, 50 guns, 2.5 pounds of meth, 1.5 pounds of cocaine, 6 pounds of marijuana and 48 marijuana plants, authorities said.

Police armed with machine guns and body armor stormed the home of 57-year-old John A. Robertson Jr. in Willamina, training a gun on the head of a 10-year-old boy they found in the bathroom, the boy's mother, Elaine Labonte said Monday. Robertson was already handcuffed on the ground, she said, and her son was traumatized.

"None of that was necessary," said Labonte, who attended an arraignment Monday in U.S. District Court.

Another eight officers, guns drawn, showed up at the Woodburn farm of Benjamin Garcia, 47, one of 14 people accused of taking part in both cockfighting and gambling, according to his son, Julio Caesar Garcia. The elder Garcia was off the property at the time, getting medicine for a cow, he said.

Julio Garcia, found working in the barn Monday, said his father is accused of renting his barn to cockfighting promoters. Julio Garcia said he had no idea whether there was any truth to the allegations.

Thirty-six defendants were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Dennis J. Hubel, including 61-year-old Sergio Gonzalez-Brizuela of Woodburn, described by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Peifer as a leader of the cockfighting operation.

Peifer told Hubel the government collected more than 100 hours of audio and video inside the cockfights.

Operations Red Rooster and Tattered Wing were headed by agents assigned to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of the Inspector General. It was the agency's third major investigation of animal fighting in the past two years and only the second prosecution in the nation under a new federal law that made cockfighting a felony.

Blumenauer's role

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., was a key player in the passage of the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, signed May 3, 2007. Blumenauer said getting the law passed was an uphill battle against a powerful but "subterranean" group of lobbyists and good ol' boys who believe animal fighting is part of the American tradition.

Last year's high-profile investigation into Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for dogfighting marked a turning point in passage of the law, he said, and introduced Americans to the nature of blood sports.

"It's not just that it's the most barbaric practice imaginable, but it is tied to a whole host of other illegal activities," Blumenauer said.

"When these rings are busted -- and there's far more going on than is actually prosecuted -- there are large amounts of cash, illegal drugs and gang violence," he said. "It's not just a few chickens pecking at each other."

Susan Goldsmith of The Oregonian contributed to this story.

Bryan Denson: 503-294-7614; bryandenson@news.oregonian.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonia ... xml&coll=7

Unfortunately, within the actual hard copy article, there was a list which does not show up on the online copy. This list shows all 63 accused, it lists the charges, which range from just the cockfighting up to that plus drug trafficking/cockfighting/illegal gambling.

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., was a key player in the passage of the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, signed May 3, 2007. Blumenauer said getting the law passed was an uphill battle against a powerful but "subterranean" group of lobbyists and good ol' boys who believe animal fighting is part of the American tradition.

I called Earl's office last week to ask him to support HR 4088 the SAVE Act and sign petition 0005. Not a chance. This guy is a loon.

"It's not just that it's the most barbaric practice imaginable, but it is tied to a whole host of other illegal activities," Blumenauer said

Oh, really Earl? Such as the recent cocaine trafficking busts on I-5 in the last few months?
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews ... n_pro.html
________
http://www.bendweekly.com/index.php?news=14336

and in North Carolina......

Law enforcement agencies work together to bust cockfighting ring
March 17, 2008 - 5:41PM
Brie Handgraaf/Times-News
Twelve men were arrested around noon on Saturday at a trailor, 79 Marie Drive, Gibsonville, in connection with a cockfighting operation in Rockingham and Caswell counties in which approximately 250 birds were seized. Caswell County Sheriff Michael Welch said it appeared they were in between fights when authorities arrived.

Dean Venable, a public information officer with the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department, said investigators also found weapons, drugs, cash, cockfighting videos and equipment in the raid. The gear included spurs, medicines and syringes.

"The medication that was seized is intended to make birds more aggressive and stronger for the fights," Venable said.
Of the nearly 250 birds found, 12 were prepared to fight, two had injuries allegedly from previous fights. Five of the birds were dead.

Sheriff's departments from Rockingham, Guilford, Caswell, Person and Alamance counties were involved in the arrests as well as the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division, the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the State Bureau of Investigation.

ICE was present to investigate the citizenship of the suspects, many of whom were Hispanic.

Welch said most of the men arrested listed Mexico and New Mexico as their places of birth. Their legal status is still under investigation.

While cockfighting is illegal in the United States it is legal in some Hispanic nations, including Mexico, Venable said.

"It is simple to afford," Venable said. "All they have to do is attach a blade and they have a potential gambling device."

Among the items seized by authorities were two rifles, a shotgun, one pound of marijuana, scales and more than $8,000.

According to the Humane Society of the United States Web site, gamecocks are usually fitted with spurs, which are razor-sharp steel blades, to increase the violence. Common injuries to the birds include punctured lungs, broken bones and pierced eyes.

"Cockfighting is one of the most cruel blood sports," Welch said. "One thing that sticks out is the other crimes associated with animal fighting like illegal gambling, drugs, firearms and other crimes."

Venable said cockfighting arrests are not common. Randy Jones, spokesman for the Alamance Sheriff's Department spokesman, agreed. He could recall no recent cockfighting incidents this county.

"I think, from what I have seen, there is a resurgence with the insurgence of Hispanics," Jones said. "Hispanics are apparently involved in it, but I haven't made enough arrests to tell you definitively."


The names of the 12 charged are:

* Juan Jose Perez Lara, 24, Highway 29, Greensboro, was charged with cockfighting, cruelty to animals and felonious possession of marijuana with the intent to sell and deliver. Bond was set at $75,000.

* Juan Jose Castro Mendoza, 28, Lumber Street, Reidsville, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. Bond was set at $50,000.

* Luis Bravo Agundiz, 24, Anna Lane, Reidsville, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. He was released with a written promise to appear.

* Jose Cruz Agundiz, 21, Dewey Drive, Gibsonville, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. He was released with a written promise to appear.

* Jose Hernandez Martinez, 19, Brown Summit Avenue, Greensboro, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. Bond was set at $50,000.

* Jose Alfredo Agundiz Medellin, 28, Beaumont Avenue, High Point, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. Bond was set at $50,000.

* Juan Carlos Bringas Arteaga, 29, South Center Street, Eden, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. Bond was set at $50,000.

* Ventura Vasquez, 54, Chumney Loop, Eden, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. Bond was set at $50,000.

* Juan Salazar Garrero, 27, Marie Drive, Gibsonville, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. Bond was set at $50,000.

* Adrian Vasquez Reyes, 19, Field Crest Road, Eden, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. Bond was set at $50,000.

* Javier Reyes Torez Tellee, 21, Eden, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. Bond was set at $50,000.

* Carlos Alberto Salazar, 25, Highway 29, Greensboro, was charged with cockfighting and cruelty to animals. Bond was set at $50,000.



http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/togeth ... _work.html

florgal, there was a hard copy list (not listed on the online article) of the 63 in OR and WA, and it read that all but 8 were Hispanic names, no mention of ICE and if their services were necessary for any of the involved, but the hometowns were listed and some were listed as "unknown".

The article did not mention if any were suspected of being illegal aliens. My suspicion is that some were.