Overview
- Law enforcement from the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office and Wills Point police, working with the SPCA of Texas, executed a search warrant at a residence on Van Zandt County Road 1118 near Grand Saline and removed animals and evidence from the property.
- Officials seized nearly 200 birds — the SPCA reported 174 roosters and seven hens — plus a large sum of cash, specialized transport equipment, vehicles, trailers, cockfighting paraphernalia, and electronic devices.
- Justin Blake Hart of Grand Saline was arrested and booked on a state jail felony cockfighting charge; he is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
- The SPCA transported the birds to its Russell E. Dealey Animal Rescue Center in Dallas for veterinary care and a civil custody hearing is scheduled for July 22 before a justice of the peace.
- Under Texas law, causing birds to fight or using property for cockfighting is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine, and investigators say the evidence could point to a broader, organized illegal trade that remains under active probe.