Men get no jail time for cockfighting charges

Three Mexican men caught with a vehicle full of fighting cocks will serve no jail time but will be required to perform 48 hours public service work each for their crime.

The defendants, Elias R. Najera, Fidel Y. Pulido and Abel Santillan, all entered guilty pleas through their interpreters before General Sessions Judge Larry Ross to charges of cockfighting. They were each placed on probation for six months in addition to their public service work.

The defendants were charged after they were pulled over on Shellsford Road in February. A large case containing both live and dead fighting cocks was found inside their vehicle. Arresting officer David Seibers said he asked the men to open the box after seeing feathers sticking out of the container.

‘We found multiple stalls containing the animals, some of which were dead,’ said Siebers, noting three of the seven roosters were dead, most bearing deep gash wounds. ‘It was obvious they had been used for fighting.’

Along with the roosters, lawmen found a case containing spurs and other implements used to arm their fighting cocks.

During questioning, the men reportedly said they generally travel out of state to fight their animals, but, on the night in question, they had been fighting them in nearby Sequatchie County.

In passing sentence, Judge Ross told the men that while cockfighting may be allowed in their native Mexico, it is forbidden in the United States. In fact, cockfighting is a felony in 33 states and merely watching a cock fight is illegal in Tennessee and most states.