Overview
- Investigators say a secluded property on Mountain Spring Road in Tolland hosted cockfights and cash betting, with troopers executing a search-and-seizure warrant after a long-running probe.
- Police report seizing about $90,000 in cash and locating 273 birds, which the agriculture department euthanized because of deteriorated conditions.
- Authorities booked 100 people in total as the case remains open, with court dates scheduled in June at Rockville Superior Court.
- Property owners Elvin Miranda, 59, and Lisa Miranda, 66, face charges that include animal cruelty, professional gambling, operating a gambling premise, and risk of injury to a minor, and each posted a $250,000 bond.
- Connecticut outlawed cockfighting more than a century ago, and animal advocates note birds bred to fight are seldom safe to rehome.