Sentencing Due For RivCo Man Who Ran Cockfighting Events

CORONA, CA — A Corona man is set to be sentenced in federal court in downtown Los Angeles Monday for organizing cockfights in which owners paid $1,000 to register roosters expected to fight to the death while spectators gambled on the bloody results.

Isidro Chaparro Sanchez, 59, pleaded guilty in March to one federal count of conspiracy to sponsor and exhibit roosters in an animal fighting venture -- a felony carrying a possible sentence of up to five years imprisonment, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Sanchez admitted working with four others to produce the daylong cockfighting events on Sundays at a home in San Bernardino County for about four months last year. The site included a cockfighting ring with seating and bars serving alcoholic drinks and tacos.

Prosecutors say attendees parked -- at a cost of $20 -- nearly 1 mile away from the venue and were then shuttled to the home, where they paid $40 to enter the arena where the fights took place. A team registering four roosters would pay an entry fee of $1,000. One of the co-defendants would collect the money, register the team's roosters for battle, and record the weights of the birds, papers filed in Los Angeles federal court show.

Attendees, including those who had registered their roosters, would place bets with bookmakers who collected the cash, Sanchez's plea agreement says.

The blood sport on Duffy Street ended on Aug. 4, 2024, shortly after the arrival of almost 60 people, some carrying roosters. Before the first bout that day, special agents with the FBI armed with a search warrant raided the place.

Items seized included roughly $9,000 in cash, 50 to 100 sharp instruments or "gaffs" -- curved metal spurs or blades that are attached to a rooster's leg prior to a fight -- and various types of steroids. In addition, about 200 birds, of which more than 150 were deemed to be fighting roosters by a local animal control agency, were recovered, authorities said.

The four co-defendants, all from the Inland Empire, each pleaded guilty to a federal charge and are awaiting sentencing.

Cockfighting is a contest in which a person attaches a knife, gaff or other sharp instrument to the leg of a "gamecock" or rooster and then places the bird a few inches away from a similarly armed rooster.

This results in a violent fight during which the roosters flap their wings and jump while stabbing each other with the weapons that are fastened to their legs.

A cockfight ends when one rooster is dead or refuses to continue to fight. Usually, one or both roosters die after a fight, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

— City News Service