Overview
- Police raided a Jake Road home on Jacksonville’s Northside after a neighbor’s tip about rooster fights.
- Officers encountered a backyard fighting pen with spectators holding cash as a referee monitored a bout, prompting a chase when police moved in.
- Seven men were detained immediately, with four more found during a search, including suspects hiding in shed rafters and under a camper.
- Investigators documented the scene on bodycam and seized $13,600 in cash, dozens of metal spurs, stacked cages, and several dead birds.
- Animal Control euthanized 130 recovered roosters, citing avian disease risk and birds conditioned for aggression; the men face animal-fighting and resisting-arrest charges.