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Five Inland Empire residents were charged after the FBI monitored a cockfighting ring they allegedly operated for at least a year in San Bernardino County.
Two suspects are from San Bernardino; the other three are from Corona, Rialto and Moreno Valley.
Four defendants were arrested Sunday in connection with the cockfighting ring in the 2800 block of Duffy Street, also known as the Duffy Street Property in Muscoy. The fifth was at large.
They are charged with aiding, abetting, inducing, and willfully causing another person to sponsor and exhibit an animal in an animal fighting venture, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Almost every Sunday, organizers ran the enterprise during “cockfighting season,” typically from January through August, according to an investigative affidavit filed with the criminal complaint.
Investigators estimated around 100 people attended a typical cockfighting event, parking in a lot nearly a mile away on Kern Street before they were shuttled to the fighting area.
Attendees pay a parking fee and another fee before entering the area where cockfights are held, and they can also purchase refreshments from a taco stand and bar, according to the affidavit.
Attendees can also place bets on fights and take part in a raffle. Cockfighters pay to enter their roosters into fights.
From May 2023 through July 2024, a confidential FBI source attended several cockfights at the Duffy Street Property allegedly run and operated by the defendants.
At those events, a suspect allegedly made the property available for an animal fighting venture, collected entry fees from attendees and made announcements. Another suspect allegedly made the parking lot available for attendees, and her daughter collected parking fees, according to the affidavit.
Another suspect allegedly served drinks at the bar and collected entry fees, while one defendant allegedly collected cockfighter entry fees and another refereed fights, according to the affidavit.
Cockfighters paid $1,000 to enter four roosters in fights, and attendees paid $40 to enter the arena, according to the affidavit. At each event the source attended, patrons typically paid $20 to park and an additional $40 to enter the arena.
The FBI’s source said that people hosting the fights earned around $80,000 to $90,000 each month. The source said they were at the arena at a May event for about nine and a half hours with cockfights going on for most of the event, according the affidavit.
Originally Published: August 5, 2024 at 7:34 p.m.
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Courtesy : https://www.pressenterprise.com/2024/08/05/5-inland-empire-residents-charged-on-suspicion-of-running-a-cockfighting-ring/