Hollister Authorities Raid Cockfight
HOLLISTER—Not everyone was shopping on black Friday. A group of men used that day to host an illegal cockfight on the 7600 block of Frazier Lake Road.
Augustin Mendieta
At about 9 p.m., authorities with three different agencies – the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department, the City’s Animal Control office and the California Highway Patrol – acted on information about a cockfight event that was happening in a rural area of San Benito County.
“This was an actual event,” Hollister Police Sergeant Dan Winn said. “This one even had a concession stand.”
As Animal Control Officers with the assistance of the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department barged in and interrupted the cockfight. About 300 spectators fled into the surrounding fields as roosters were still fighting in a make shift ring.
Animal Control Officers seized 66 roosters. Four of them where dead as a result of fighting. Seven of them had sustained life-threatening injuries and had to be euthanized. 55 birds where also seized as evidence.
Authorities also seized numerous knives that were attached to the birds and used for fighting. The California Highway Patrol arrested Agustin Suarez Medieta, 35, of San Martin as he was found two miles away holding a fighting rooster, which he said followed him.
“This is a business to these people . They don’t care about the implications of what they are doing to the animal,” Sergeant Winn added. “There is a debate going on, about the difference between the law and their culture. They actually believe that it is their right to maim these animals.”
Authorities cited numerous people that came from the surrounding to area to witness this large-scale event. Cited were Bernardino Hernandez, 68, of Salinas, Jose Rodriguez Perez, 87, of Salinas, Pedro Leon Hernandez, 45, of Gilroy, Gustavo Garcia Perez, 44 of Menlo Park, Roberto Herbert Jimenez-Santiago, 19, of Morgan Hill and Daniel Melero Villarreal, 28 of Menlo Park.
The Hollister Animal Care and Services Bureau is asking anyone that has information about this incident to call them at 1-831-636-4320.
Read More:
KION: 66 Roosters Seized From Cockfight in San Benito County
Gilroy Dispatch: Frazier Lake Road Cockfight Raided; Police say ‘Hundreds’ Fled
