Cockfighting Operation Dismantled By FBI In Inland Empire

INLAND EMPIRE, CA — An FBI investigation into an Inland Empire cockfighting operation resulted in the arrests of four people, and one more was sought, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

Isidro Chaparro Sanchez, 59, of Corona, Luis Octavio Angulo, 61, of Rialto, Sergio Jimenez Maldonado, 51, of San Bernardino, and Eva Anilu Pastor Uriostegui, 53, of Moreno Valley, were expected to make their initial appearances Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Riverside.

Another resident, 56-year-old Cirilo Esquivel Alcantar of San Bernardino, is also charged in the case and is sought, according to the DOJ.

The defendants are charged with aiding, abetting, inducing, and willfully causing another person to sponsor and exhibit an animal in an animal fighting venture, according to prosecutors.

According to a federal criminal complaint, the defendants organized and ran cockfighting events on Duffy Street in Muscoy, in unincorporated San Bernardino County.

They held several events on Sundays during cockfighting "season," which generally runs from January to August. Participants brought roosters to fight, at times drawing more than 100 attendees to watch, place bets, eat, drink, and enter a raffle, according to the complaint.

Before the matches, a sharp blade, known as a "gaff" — curved and approximately 1.5 inches in length — was often attached to the roosters' legs. At times, the fights ended in the death of one or both birds, the complaint states.

Cockfighters paid a fee to enter their roosters: $1,000 for four birds. Spectators also paid. Parking was $20, and admission ran about $40, according to the complaint. The cost of food, drink and gambling was extra.

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

Cockfighting is illegal in California. It is also a federal crime that can be prosecuted under the U.S. Animal Welfare Act.