174 birds seized in cockfighting raid in rural NC. What will happen to them?
The fate of the roosters rescued from a weekend cockfighting event remains unclear, but due to disease concerns, they may be euthanized, authorities said.
The raid happened Saturday at a rural property in Granville County, not far from Wake Forest. Fifteen people were arrested, with five still being held for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Cockfighting is against state and federal law, and the Granville County Sheriff’s Office seized 174 live roosters in the bust.
“We didn’t even count how many were dead. There was so many of them,” Detective Jon-Ta Pulley said.
Many of the birds had razor blades attached to their legs for the fights.
“It was inhumane,” Sheriff Robert Fountain said. “They had a doctor there that was injecting the birds with adrenaline and sewing them up so they could go to the next fight.”
Pulley said all the birds were turned over to Animal Control, which may euthanize them.
Workers at the animal shelter said they could not discuss the case and referred questions to the county, whose spokesperson said he would try to get more information.
Disease and aggression
State veterinarians conducted testing and did not find any cases of bird flu, according to Brandon Herring, a spokesman for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (North Carolina poultry is currently considered free of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus and exports are allowed.)
They did, however, find another contagious respiratory disease: infectious laryngotracheitis, or ILT, which can potentially kill infected birds.
“We are prepared to offer resources for humane euthanasia as needed,” Herring said in an email.
Beyond disease concerns, gamecocks are notoriously aggressive.
N.C. State University poultry science professor Frank Edens said flocks of social animals like poultry are typically dominated by an alpha (or occasionally two).
But fighting cocks, Edens said, are unsocialized, having been raised in very different conditions because they are innately aggressive.
“Even if fighting cocks are reared together from hatch to adulthood, fierce fights erupt daily in those conditions,” Edens said in an email.
Instead, they’re typically tethered to a spot or placed in cages when they are a few weeks old, the equivalent of a human teenager.
Rehoming them could therefore be disastrous.
“Not only will the unsocialized fighting cock attack any or all the birds in a flock, it will also attack other animals and humans alike,” Edens said.
The decision on these birds will be made by Granville County Animal Control.
The timeline
Here is a timeline of the investigation, based on a Wednesday news conference and follow-up conversations with Pulley, the lead investigator, and Fountain.
These events began Friday, July 26.
Friday afternoon
Around 1 p.m., an unnamed citizen called the Sheriff’s Office to tip them off to an upcoming cockfight.
The Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation and requested backup from:
- Sheriff’s offices in Durham, Franklin and Vance counties
- State Highway Patrol
- Alcohol Law Enforcement
Early Saturday morning
The Sheriff’s Office began surveilling the property, 1009 Lawrence Road.
11 a.m. Saturday
The fights were scheduled to begin. A $50,000 grand prize was advertised.
An undercover deputy paid $50 to the landowner at the gate. She had his car searched, and he was allowed inside.
The deputy witnessed fighting and gambling, all while remaining in “constant communication” with the assembled law enforcement.
“That gave us the probable cause,” Fountain said.
2:05 p.m. Saturday
A search warrant — which has yet to be released to the public — was executed and deputies swarmed the property.
People fled into the surrounding woods, according to video footage captured by a Highway Patrol helicopter.
The Sheriff’s Office charged 15 people and seized a “large amount of property,” including 46 vehicles and at least seven trailers containing cages.
Animal Control, using nets, rescued 174 birds. Dozens more were found dead and some likely escaped, Pulley said.
“There were people going in these trailers and just unlatching the things to let the birds out because they didn’t want them caught, so Animal Control had to deal with a bunch of roosters that were just running at large,” Pulley said.
Five guns were seized, including an AK-47 with markings linked to a Mexican drug cartel, Fountain said.
Also seized was $23,000 in cash, although the person collecting the bets avoided capture. Investigators believe he was holding most of the cash.
The days since
The Sheriff’s Office is still working to identify dozens who escaped into the woods.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Easley, a federal prosecutor, has since taken an interest in the case.
Fountain said there may be links to other cockfighting operations along the East Coast.
The charges
All 15 were charged with cockfighting and gambling:
- One was the property owner, who was the only Granville County resident captured.
- The other 14 were attending the event from neighboring states and other countries.
- ICE detainers: Four Mexican citizens and one Cuban citizen are being detained for deportation.
Cockfighting is a Class I felony, the lowest possible, which could result in up to a year in prison.
Gambling is a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine and a maximum of 60 days in jail.
Animal welfare concerns
Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, advocacy nonprofits, believe North Carolina gamecock breeders have ties to Mexico and Guam.
“The bust in Granville County exposed a criminal network of cockfighters, and that includes operators of a massive gamecock farm in Wilkes County, perhaps the biggest in North Carolina,” Wayne Pacelle, president of both organizations, said in a news release.
He was referencing Los Panchos Gamecock Farm, an operation on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains that had a trailer seized by the Sheriff’s Office.
The people charged
The Granville County Sheriff’s Office released the names of everyone charged so far:
- Noe Jaimes Antunez
- Roberto Soria Castaneda
- Arturo Garcia
- Jose Garcia
- Ricardo Jimenez Garcia
- Juan Perez Hernandez
- Raphael Hernandez
- Pedro Lopez
- Khanh Lee
- Sharon Kay Miller (the landowner)
- Manuel R. Mejorado
- Hector Martinez Paredes
- Alexis Ramirez Perez
- Miguel Angel Perez-Vazquez
- Gregario Sanchez
This story was originally published August 1, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
