Overview
- Maricopa County deputies responded Jan. 10 after an out-of-state property owner reported unauthorized people at a Tonopah home, where they encountered an in-progress cockfight and crowds fleeing.
- Specialized units secured the scene and executed a warrant, recovering a fight ring, cockfighting equipment, gambling ledgers and scoreboards, a scale, and 36 gaffs.
- Investigators found 34 live roosters with alterations, two recently dead birds near the ring, and a pit with additional dead roosters, and a sheriff’s spokesman said all live birds were humanely euthanized.
- Three men — Jesus Valenzuela, 48, Miguel Pelajio, 38, and Ruben Zavala, 52 — were taken into custody and each charged with one count of cockfighting and one count of presence at a cockfight.
- Court documents cite a witness who described Valenzuela as arranging the event and handling money, Pelajio as his second-in-command, and Zavala as providing security and collecting entry fees, while officials say other attendees were cited and totals remain undisclosed.