Jose Guerrero
Two Douglas County men arrested on suspicion of cockfighting made their first appearances in court Wednesday afternoon.
Sheriff Ken McGovern said officers removed 169 birds on Tuesday from their property, 7 miles south of Eudora.
He said the men were breeding roosters to participate in the illegal blood sport of cockfighting.
Ezequiel Olivas, 44, and Jose Guerrero, 40, were arrested at the property, 2174 N. 700 Road.
About 60 officers and animal officials spent six hours on Tuesday raiding two acres of land, where they found 118 gamecocks, 48 hens and three chicks, McGovern said.
The operation was conducted after about two years of planning.
Olivas was charged Tuesday with three counts of conducting cockfighting and one charge of possession of cockfighting paraphernalia.
He is being represented by Paul Morrison, former Kansas attorney general and Johnson County district attorney.
Guerrero was charged Wednesday with one count of conducting cockfighting. His attorney is Joe Dioszeghy.
The suspects are expected to be the first for the crime since a Kansas law was amended in July to make cockfighting a felony.
District Attorney Charles Branson said the charge carries a probation or prison sentence, depending on the suspect’s criminal history.
Guerrero is being held on $5,000 bond, Olivas on $6,000 bond. Both men are scheduled to return to court Dec. 22.
Comments
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areyouserious (anonymous) says…
big deal............they are south carolina superfans!!!!!!
rando1965 (anonymous) says…
cock fighting it's a sport come on look at kfc or even the grocery stores they have dead chickens arrest all of them
cheeseburger (anonymous) says…
What a system we have - the bird fighter is in court the day after the big bust; meanwhile, Joel Hernandez is free to roam the streets weeks after hitting Rachel Leek and leaving her for dead. Does anyone else see anything wrong with this picture? Has society become so desensitized to human death in general and alcohol-related deaths specifically?
somedude20 (anonymous) says…
They should take their cocky aggression on over to the Wilde's Chateau 24. Just watch out for any sticky situations
booknut (anonymous) says…
Two years of planning to arrest two men for having the paraphernalia and gamebirds to participate in cockfighting? How many thousands of wasted dollars and man hours went into this? And who the *f...* cares? Let's spend millions more incarcerating these poor bastards for years. Too bad Vick has already served his time; they could be cell mates.
Perhaps the gaming industry can get on board and legalize cockfighting so that the winnings can be taxed like any other gambling winnings are. Now there is a win/win situation (unless you are a cock)!
WHY (anonymous) says…
60 officers????? I don't think a homicide would get that many. What a stupid waste of money. I vote that we cut half of the sheriff's budget until they find something worthwhile to do.
Renaissance (anonymous) says…
Just remember- without the demand, cock fighting would never have a reason to exist. I'm more disgusted by someone that would go watch and gamble on this crap than someone who would organize the event.
buffalobill (anonymous) says…
I guess that is two more people without work now and probably many more. Let's not forget that these are rare breeds of chickens being bred since antiquity. They are an intelligent and stalwart bird that deserve respect but are under appreciated. Let them fight a few chickens and let's stop bombing the spit out of other counties!!!!
Hop2It (anonymous) says…
A felony is a felony.
It also wasn't 60 law enforcement officers. From reading other stories, a large part of that number was animal control and humane society volunteers assigned to catch the chickens.
acg (anonymous) says…
Whenever I hear cockfighting my mind just goes to a really weird place.