Providence Cockfighter Gets Off With Probation, $200 Fine

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Providence man dodged jail time despite admitting to his involvement in cockfighting, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Onill Vazquez Lozada, 41, had pleaded guilty in April to possessing, sponsoring and exhibiting birds in an animal fighting venture, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a media release.

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Lozada also admitted that four years earlier, he "possessed roosters for the purpose of having them fight," according to the release.

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And on top of that, confessed to his involvement in "sponsoring and exhibiting" at least one rooster in a fight against another rooster in March 2022, the release said.

All of that withstanding, Lozada was sentenced to only two years’ probation, a $200 fine and a $200 special assessment, according to the release.

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"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," the release said.

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"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," according to the release. "A cockfight ends when one rooster is dead or refuses to continue to fight. Commonly, one or both roosters die after a fight."

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