August 5, 2024 - RIVERSIDE, California – Four Inland Empire residents have been arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging they organized and ran cockfighting events in San Bernardino County.

The following defendants, who were arrested Sunday at a cockfighting event, are charged with aiding, abetting, inducing, and willfully causing another person to sponsor and exhibit an animal in an animal fighting venture and are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside:

• Isidro Chaparro Sanchez, 59, of Corona;
• Luis Octavio Angulo, 61, of Rialto;
• Sergio Jimenez Maldonado, 51, of San Bernardino; and
• Eva Anilu Pastor Uriostegui, 53, of Moreno Valley.

Law enforcement is looking for Cirilo Esquivel Alcantar, 56, of San Bernardino, who also is charged in this case.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, the defendants organized and facilitated cockfighting events in Muscoy. The defendants held events on Sundays during the cockfighting “season,” which generally runs from January to August. Individuals brought roosters to fight (i.e., cockfighters) and spectators attended the events, which at times drew more than 100 attendees. 

Attendees parked – at the cost of $20 – at a different location nearly one mile away from the event location. Attendees were then shuttled to the cockfighting location, where they paid another fee – usually $40 – to enter the arena where the cockfights took place. Attendees could also place bets on the cockfights and participate in a raffle. 

Cockfighters paid a fee to enter their roosters into fights – $1,000 for four roosters – and then entered the fighting arena with their roosters when it is their turn to fight. Several cockfights took place on a given day. Before the fights, a sharp blade, known as a “gaff” and usually curved and approximately 1.5 inches in length, was often attached to each rooster’s leg. At times, the fights ended in the death of one or both roosters.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, the defendants would each face a statutory maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

The FBI is investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Cory L. Burleson of the Riverside Branch Office and Dennis Mitchell of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section are prosecuting this case.
Source: DOJ Release