Crime & Safety
6 Men From RI, MA Charged In Providence Cockfighting Ring
If convicted of violating the Animal Welfare Act, the six men could face up to five years in federal prison.
PROVIDENCE, RI — Six people from Rhode Island and Massachusetts are facing federal charges after prosecutors said they were involved with cockfighting events held in Providence.
Cockfighting is a contest where a person attaches a knife, gaff or other sharp instrument to the leg of a rooster and then places the bird a few inches away from a similarly armed rooster. This results in a 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. Commonly, one or both roosters die after a fight.
Prosecutors said Miguel Delgado, 73, Onill Vasquez Lozada, 39, and Antonio Ledee Rivera, all from Rhode Island, along with Massachusetts residents Gerdimez Kingsley Jamie, 31, Jose Rivera, 67, and Luis Castillo, 35, participated in cockfighting events on Feb. 25 and March 6, 2022.
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According to court documents, the fights were held at Delgado's Providence home. Delgado was charged with sponsoring and exhibiting roosters in an animal fighting venture on multiple dates, buying and transporting sharp instruments or “gaffs” for use in the cockfights, and unlawfully possessing roosters for use in an animal fighting venture.
Lozada and Ledee Rivera were charged with unlawfully possessing roosters in April 2021 for use in an animal fighting venture, and for sponsoring and exhibiting roosters at the March 2022 derby at Delgado’s home. Rivera was also charged in connection with an earlier derby at Delgado’s home.
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The three Massachusetts men were charged with sponsoring and exhibiting roosters at an animal fighting venture at the March 2022 derby. Jamie and Jose Rivera were also charged with one count of buying and transporting gaffs for use in an animal fighting venture.
If convicted of Animal Welfare Act violations, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
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