Animal Welfare Groups Decry Alleged Cockfighting In Riverside County

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — Two Coachella Valley men suspected of having several illegally possessed firearms as well as multiple gamecocks and items related to cockfighting were released from jail Thursday on $10,000 bail bonds.

The arrests prompted two national animal rights organizations to condemn the men's alleged involvement in the blood sport.

Jorge Alberto Casillas Flores, 30, of Coachella and Antonio De Jesus Casillas Flores, 27, of Indio were arrested Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of being a gang member with a firearm, animal cruelty and cockfighting, according to a report from Sgt. Paul Heredia of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Antonio De Jesus Casillas Flores was additionally arrested on suspicion of providing firearms to a convicted felon and possessing a stolen firearm while Jorge Alberto Casillas Flores was additionally suspected of being a felon in possession of firearms and of ammunition, Heredia said.

The Coachella Valley Violent Crime Gang Task Force along with the La Quinta Special Enforcement Team and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department of Aviation searched two residences, according to Heredia.

During the searches in the 52000 block of Calle Leandro in Coachella and in the 81000 block of Avenue 46 in Indio, Gang Task Force officers allegedly found several illegally possessed firearms including seven rifles, one which was previously reported stolen, and 10 handguns.

"Additionally, Gang Task Force Officers located multiple gamecocks and items related to cockfighting such as gaffs, the razor-sharp steel blades used to attach to a gamecocks' legs during a cockfight," Heredia wrote in a statement. "Riverside County Animal Control subsequently responded and took possession of the gamecocks that were located during the search warrant."

The two suspects were subsequently arrested and booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio but posted $10,000 bail bonds and were released Thursday, according to inmate records.

“Again, we see cockfighting bound up with other illicit conduct, in this case illegal and stolen weapons. We remind law enforcement officers that if they want to make communities safer, the best thing they can do is to bust cockfighting operators because these perpetrators of animal cruelty are often involved with a host of other crimes. We laud the Riverside County Sheriffs’ Office for making arrests of two brothers seemingly involved in cockfighting and gun crimes," said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. His statement was issued in a joint press release with The Center for a Humane Economy.

It was not immediately known whether the two men were in fact related.

Animal Wellness Action is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) organization that works to promote legal standards to outlaw animal cruelty. The Center for a Humane Economy is a national non-profit organization that focuses on influencing businesses to eliminate animal cruelty practices in their operations.

Anyone with additional information on the firearms or cockfighting was asked to call CVVCGTF member Deputy J. Chavez at 760-836-1600.

—City News Service and Patch Editor Toni McAllister contributed to this report.