Illegal cockfighting ring discovered in Rusk County

RUSK COUNTY — 13 people were arrested and around 125 animals were seized after an illegal cockfighting ring was discovered in Rusk County on Sunday. According to our news partner KETK, two phone calls were made to 911 on Sunday because people were watching rooster fights in a wooded area. The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office said they arrived at the 15000 block of County Road 2132. They detained individuals, and charged them with felony offenses or misdemeanors. The owner of the land was also arrested. Some of the animals that were found were dead.  “This is a very large bust because not only did we get people actively cockfighting whenever we arrived… if you pan to my right there’s all the dead roosters,” said Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez. Deputies also discovered undisclosed amount of cash at the property. 23 people received tickets for being spectators of the animal fights. Around 40 people also ran into the woods when authorities arrived at the location.

“We got here soon enough to where there aren’t that many roosters that actually died from cockfighting,” said Sheriff Valdez.

Individuals traveled from San Antonio, Houston and Dallas to have their roosters participate in the fights. Law enforcement were also granted a search warrant to look through all the vehicles on the property. They found fighting boxes in some of the vehicles. There were blades and other instruments used during rooster fights inside the boxes. Every rooster is worth $5,000, and people could make $15,000 from one match, said the sheriff’s office. Deputies are taking in the roosters temporarily. They are going to keep them in the Rusk County Youth Expo Center. A property hearing is also going to be held, since no one is claiming the roosters.