NFT Cockfighting Bust in Tennessee

[C-Mac]

Cockfighting Bust in Tennessee Riles Hillside Locals
by Sunil Setty
June 13, 2005
U.S. law enforcement officials took to the backwoods of Tennessee over the weekend to stop what has been touted as one of the largest "cockfights" in America, where spectators wager on chickens battling to the death in a small pit.

Police arrested 144 people attending the event, with SWAT teams, helicopters and dozens of Tennessee troopers bearing down on the Del Rio Cockfight Pit, seizing approximately US$40,000 and destroying more than 300 roosters after no one would claim them.

"Reputedly, this was the largest cockfight in the United States," said District Attorney Al Schmutzer Jr. "It was becoming open and notorious, and you just can't stand back and let something operate like that in the community."

Cockfighting is a misdemeanor in Tennessee, and those convicted face up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a $2,500 fine.

"I've been around this stuff all my life. Everything I've ever known is a chicken fight," said David Webb, who said he lost more than 20 chickens valued at $150 each during the raid.

The raid occurred in Newport, 42 miles east of Knoxville, ironically in "Cocke County."

The venue seated approximately 400 people, with spectators verbally abusing police as they shut down the spectacle.

"(The raid) was kind of rough on some old hillside people who are just trying to survive," said Wayne Donahue of Luttrell, who was issued a citation for spectating. "It probably should be illegal, but as far as terrorizing children and old women and people who've had heart attacks and operations, that's going a little bit too far."

Has anyone here ever been to an actual cockfight?
I remember actually taking a beautiful girl on a date to one of these things.

[Goapics1]

You took a date to a cockfight?

[HemiEd]

Police arrested 144 people attending the event, with SWAT teams, helicopters and dozens of Tennessee troopers bearing down on the Del Rio Cockfight Pit, seizing approximately US$40,000 and destroying more than 300 roosters after no one would claim them.


Is there some irony in this?

I attended one of these over in Guam, 1969. Pretty much turned me off. The grotesque thing was the Baloots (sp) that they were eating as a snack.

[MOhillbilly]

Sounds like tax money well spent.

[MOhillbilly]

Police arrested 144 people attending the event, with SWAT teams, helicopters and dozens of Tennessee troopers bearing down on the Del Rio Cockfight Pit, seizing approximately US$40,000 and destroying more than 300 roosters after no one would claim them.




Possesion of gameroosters in some states is a felony.
If you just claim to be a spectator its only a misd.

[C-Mac]

Police arrested 144 people attending the event, with SWAT teams, helicopters and dozens of Tennessee troopers bearing down on the Del Rio Cockfight Pit, seizing approximately US$40,000 and destroying more than 300 roosters after no one would claim them.


"I've been around this stuff all my life. Everything I've ever known is a chicken fight," said David Webb, who said he lost more than 20 chickens valued at $150 each during the raid.

:hmmm:

[HemiEd]

Possesion of gameroosters in some states is a felony.
If you just claim to be a spectator its only a misd.


I understand why nobody claimed them, but why did the authorities destroy them? Shit, they could have fed them to poor kids or something.

[C-Mac]

You took a date to a cockfight?

Yes I really did, not much to do in rural Kansas sometimes.
One thing I can guarantee is that she will never forget me or that date.
:thumb:

[MOhillbilly]

:hmmm:(

Agents raid suspected cockfighting facility
Helicopters, snipers aid nearly 100 officers in strike on compound

By J.J. STAMBAUGH, stambaugh@knews.com (stambaugh@knews.com)
June 12, 2005


DEL RIO, Tenn. - One of the largest gambling raids in East Tennessee's history clipped the wings of an alleged cockfighting operation Saturday in the hills of Cocke County.
More than a hundred law enforcement officers from the FBI, Internal Revenue Service, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Tennessee Highway Patrol struck the compound early Saturday afternoon and filed criminal charges against numerous individuals found on the property.


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Officials declined to release many details about the raid, including how many people were charged or what they were alleged to have done.

Dozens of men, women and children drove away from the facility after being detained for several hours. Their vehicles bore license plates from counties throughout Tennessee as well as Georgia, North Carolina and other states.

The compound, located in a narrow valley off Happy Hollow Road, contained several large buildings, shacks and campers.

The cockfight's organizers rented rooms in one building for $100 a day, according to one TBI official.

Cockfighting is a blood sport in which specially bred gamecocks are forced to fight each other to the death for the amusement of spectators.

In some contests, razor-sharp metal spurs are strapped onto the birds to make the combat more exciting for crowds.

No federal charges were lodged Saturday, but officials stressed that the investigation is far from over.

"The agencies here were executing a federal search warrant as part of an ongoing investigation," said Neil Smith, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

While Smith declined to discuss how many officers took part in the raid because of "operational concerns," more than 70 law enforcement vehicles were visible at the scene along with three helicopters.

The Cocke County Sheriff's Office and Newport Police Department didn't take part in the operation.

During Saturday's raid, snipers were stationed in the surrounding hills to keep their eyes peeled for suspects who might threaten officers or try to run into the woods.

Armed SWAT team members clad in helmets and body armor stormed the compound while FBI helicopters circled overhead before landing in a field near the compound.

Dozens of state troopers pulled from counties across East Tennessee provided additional manpower, helping to keep the crowd inside the compound under control and directing traffic around the scene.

One man who was attending the event inside the compound when the raid occurred said the agents raced onto the property and then used a loudspeaker to order everyone "to keep their seats."

The man, who declined to give his name, said he had received a citation for "being a spectator" at the event and was ordered to appear in court July 18.

Another man said he heard someone yell, "Here they come!" as the officers stormed the property.

"Everybody was running around this way and that," he said.

At least three ambulances were dispatched up the gravel driveway leading into the compound as the afternoon wore on, but officials declined to say if anyone had been injured during the operation.

The individuals cited during the raid will face criminal charges in state court, officials said.

Fourth District Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr., who was at the scene Saturday, will be responsible for prosecuting the state charges, officials said.

He couldn't be reached for comment.

Numerous cockfighting arenas - known as "chicken pits" - were busted in the East Tennessee region from the 1950s to the late 1980s, but few of the operations have been raided in recent years, according to reports.

Many of the operations were highly sophisticated. Operators decked out their "chicken pits" with bleachers, elaborate lighting systems and even restaurants to make patrons feel more comfortable.

More recently, state and federal authorities have been aggressively pursuing vice crimes such as gambling and prostitution in Cocke County. They have often operated without the assistance of local agencies because of fears that leaks might compromise investigations in the close-knit rural community.

The property raided Saturday has long been the site of a cockfighting arena and was raided twice in the 1980s, according to neighbors.

An estimated 400 people were charged with cockfighting during one 1988 raid, which was carried out by state authorities, reports show.

The activity is something of a tradition in Cocke County where even the local high school football team - the "Fighting Cocks" - is named after the blood sport.

One elderly woman who lives near the compound said she thought it was wrong for the FBI to raid the illegal business and lamented that "young people won't have anyplace to go now."

"They (the cockfighters) didn't bother nobody, and nobody bothered them," she said.

Authorities didn't discuss what happened to the birds that were found on the property, but a press release from the FBI said, "invaluable assistance was also rendered by veterinarians of the (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and the United States Humane Society."

J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-6307.

Source:http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_n...3849147,00.html (http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_3849147,00.html)

[Goapics1]

Yes I really did, not much to do in rural Kansas sometimes.
One thing I can guarantee is that she will never forget me or that date.
:thumb:
How did you fare after the cockfight? :hump: ?

[C-Mac]

I understand why nobody claimed them, but why did the authorities destroy them? Shit, they could have fed them to poor kids or something.

Good question.
They could have at least been used for food at something like a Zoo.

[MOhillbilly]

I understand why nobody claimed them, but why did the authorities destroy them? Shit, they could have fed them to poor kids or something.


they consider them dangerous(or so theyd tell you) but they really just want to sieze your property and destroy it cause theyre ****ing nazis.

YOu gotta ask yourself why this came down the way it did.

[C-Mac]

they consider them dangerous(or so theyd tell you) but they really just want to sieze your property and destroy it cause theyre ****ing nazis.

YOu gotta ask yourself why this came down the way it did.

It would sure make some good "Reality TV".
I would have crapped my pants if I had been there and heard those helicopters landing in the back 40.

[HemiEd]

they consider them dangerous(or so theyd tell you) but they really just want to sieze your property and destroy it cause theyre ****ing nazis.

YOu gotta ask yourself why this came down the way it did.

Like I said, my experience with it turned me off but this is just as wrong, the way the authorities handled it. What makes this any more wrong than the way chickens are processed by the food industry? I have heard some pretty grotesque stories about the Chicken food industry.




It would sure make some good "Reality TV".
I would have crapped my pants if I had been there and heard those helicopters landing in the back 40.

It sounds to me like somebody was late paying somebody off. :hmmm:

[MOhillbilly]

It would sure make some good "Reality TV".
I would have crapped my pants if I had been there and heard those helicopters landing in the back 40.


Thats why you belong to your GBA.
FWIW this was barely a blip on the cockers radar screen and compared to the bust last month where 500 folks got ticketed its really a minor deal made big on a slow news day.



i just like the fact that theyre spending FEDERAL TAX dollars on this.
Ever feel like youve been cheated?

[MOhillbilly]

Like I said, my experience with it turned me off but this is just as wrong, the way the authorities handled it. What makes this any more wrong than the way chickens are processed by the food industry? I have heard some pretty grotesque stories about the Chicken food industry.






:hmmm:


Dont pander to madness, they dont play.

[MOhillbilly]

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/view?&h=105&w=140&type=msmedia&rurl=www.ifilm.com%2Fifilmdetail%2F2439440%3Frefsite%3D7063%26ns%3D1&vurl=www.ifilm.com%2Fplayer%3FifilmId%3D2439440%26refsite%3D7063&back=p%3Dcockfight%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3DFP-tab-vid-t%26fl%3D0%26x%3Dwrt&turl=scd.mm-b.yimg.com%2Fimage%2F1609225407&name=IFILM%3A+Cockfight&no=2&tt=8&p=cockfight&size=25.2MB&dur=1846&src=p&pld=780x515

[Iowanian]

i just like the fact that theyre spending FEDERAL TAX dollars on this.
Ever feel like youve been cheated?

If its a law, and known that cock/dog-fighting is illegal....WHO is supposed to enforce that law? You expect the feds to just overlook it?

I'm not advocating that this wasn't overkill on the feds part, but if the People of tenn are so overwhelmingly supporting it, maybe they should work to make it a LEGAL activity.

[C-Mac]

Like I said, my experience with it turned me off but this is just as wrong, the way the authorities handled it. What makes this any more wrong than the way chickens are processed by the food industry? I have heard some pretty grotesque stories about the Chicken food industry.
It sounds to me like somebody was late paying somebody off. :hmmm:

Even though as a young man I did have some curiousities and attended a few cockfights, I guess its important in mentioning that I do not support or condone cockfighting.
Killing an animal is not something that I enjoy, but I do love to eat them. I often wondered how I would be if we all had to raise, kill, butcher and cook our own food. I do love ham but I remember as a youngster that I couldnt eat the ham of a pig at a hog roast because it was still whole.
:shake:

[MOhillbilly]

If its a law, and known that cock/dog-fighting is illegal....WHO is supposed to enforce that law? You expect the feds to just overlook it?

I'm not advocating that this wasn't overkill on the feds part, but if the People of tenn are so overwhelmingly supporting it, maybe they should work to make it a LEGAL activity.

Rural voices are drown out by the hysteria in urban centers.
As a hunter im suprised to see you take this position.....since youre rights will be assaulted next.
good thing you have a strong lobby.

[MOhillbilly]

I do love ham but I remember as a youngster that I couldnt eat the ham of a pig at a hog roast because it was still whole.
:shake:

did they call you slim?

[HemiEd]

Even though as a young man I did have some curiousities and attended a few cockfights, I guess its important in mentioning that I do not support or condone cockfighting.
Killing an animal is not something that I enjoy, but I do love to eat them. I often wondered how I would be if we all had to raise, kill, butcher and cook our own food. I do love ham but I remember as a youngster that I couldnt eat the ham of a pig at a hog roast because it was still whole.
:shake:


I lived on a farm as a kid for a while. This was a big deal, when the butchering time came. I remember them cutting the head off of a Chicken, then seeing it running around for a while with no head. It was very traumatic, but I still ate it. Society has distanced us from the reality, but the current Chicken does taste like paper.

[HemiEd]

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/view?&h=105&w=140&type=msmedia&rurl=www.ifilm.com%2Fifilmdetail%2F2439440%3Frefsite%3D7063%26ns%3D1&vurl=www.ifilm.com%2Fplayer%3FifilmId%3D2439440%26refsite%3D7063&back=p%3Dcockfight%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3DFP-tab-vid-t%26fl%3D0%26x%3Dwrt&turl=scd.mm-b.yimg.com%2Fimage%2F1609225407&name=IFILM%3A+Cockfight&no=2&tt=8&p=cockfight&size=25.2MB&dur=1846&src=p&pld=780x515


Very enlightening. The part about the guy sucking the blood out of the Chickens lungs so it could keep fighting was somewhat disturbing.

[C-Mac]

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/view?&h=105&w=140&type=msmedia&rurl=www.ifilm.com%2Fifilmdetail%2F2439440%3Frefsite%3D7063%26ns%3D1&vurl=www.ifilm.com%2Fplayer%3FifilmId%3D2439440%26refsite%3D7063&back=p%3Dcockfight%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3DFP-tab-vid-t%26fl%3D0%26x%3Dwrt&turl=scd.mm-b.yimg.com%2Fimage%2F1609225407&name=IFILM%3A+Cockfight&no=2&tt=8&p=cockfight&size=25.2MB&dur=1846&src=p&pld=780x515

Nice work.:thumb:

FWIW It took 6 minutes and 9 seconds before someone named "Goober" made an appearance.
:D:

[C-Mac]

did they call you slim?

Just for that day.

[Frankie]

Have you ever been to a cockfight?

Yes. I could barely walk for three days afterwards.

[Goapics1]

I remember them cutting the head off of a Chicken, then seeing it running around for a while with no head.
Hence, "Quit running around like a chicken with its head cut off".

[C-Mac]

Yes. I could barely walk for three days afterwards.

I would have never guessed that this thread could have went 25 posts before someone........tried comedy.
:D

[C-Mac]

Hence, "Quit running around like a chicken with its head cut off".

Hmmm....I thought they said "quit running around like there a chicken head in your pants"

[Goapics1]

Hmmm....I thought they said "quit running around like there a chicken head in your pants"
ROFL

[HemiEd]

Hence, "Quit running around like a chicken with its head cut off".


hehe! Have you ever witness this? Pretty odd sight for a seven year old.

[Goapics1]

hehe! Have you ever witness this? Pretty odd sight for a seven year old.
Yes, I saw it when I was about 10yr old. I had nightmares for a few weeks after. What a sight!

[shakesthecat]

hehe! Have you ever witness this? Pretty odd sight for a seven year old.

I saw it when I was about that age and still consider it to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

[MOhillbilly]

Yes, I saw it when I was about 10yr old. I had nightmares for a few weeks after. What a sight!

really?

[C-Mac]

hehe! Have you ever witness this? Pretty odd sight for a seven year old.

Yes and Ive also seen a 7 year old running around with a chicken head in his pants. Thats a bit of an odd sight too.

[HemiEd]

Yes and Ive also seen a 7 year old running around with a chicken head in his pants. Thats a bit of an odd sight too.
ROFL ROFL

[Iowanian]

I think you mistake my "position". I've been to a cockfight in Missouri before. Just out of HS I went with a friend. It was a pretty shady place. I don't see the need for it personally, but they're just Chickens. Pull their heads off, stick a beer in them and throw them on the grill.

My point was, that it IS illegal, and its the Cops job to enforce the laws on the books. The fact that so many people participate in it in those areas, they should try to make it legal. Its tough to be pissed at the lawman for enforcing laws, which is his job.

In this case, it definitely sounded like overkill, but I know that the one I saw didn't have 50 people, and I can comprehend an event with 4-500 people and why they might have seen the need to have so much force.

I don't see game-fighting at all in the same arguement as Hunting. I don't see anything similar between taking a wild animal from the food chain, and breeding animals to kill each other for sport. If its your thing, fine, but I don't desire to see it.

[C-Mac]

I don't see game-fighting at all in the same arguement as Hunting. I don't see anything similar between taking a wild animal from the food chain, and breeding animals to kill each other for sport. If its your thing, fine, but I don't desire to see it.


:thumb:
I would also think that for most, whether its fishing or hunting, the "hunt" is usually whats more enjoyable than the actual kill.

[MOhillbilly]

I think you mistake my "position". I've been to a cockfight in Missouri before. Just out of HS I went with a friend. It was a pretty shady place. I don't see the need for it personally, but they're just Chickens. Pull their heads off, stick a beer in them and throw them on the grill.

My point was, that it IS illegal, and its the Cops job to enforce the laws on the books. The fact that so many people participate in it in those areas, they should try to make it legal. Its tough to be pissed at the lawman for enforcing laws, which is his job.

In this case, it definitely sounded like overkill, but I know that the one I saw didn't have 50 people, and I can comprehend an event with 4-500 people and why they might have seen the need to have so much force.

I don't see game-fighting at all in the same arguement as Hunting. I don't see anything similar between taking a wild animal from the food chain, and breeding animals to kill each other for sport. If its your thing, fine, but I don't desire to see it.

the TGBA has 1000 members the UGBA has 15000 compared to 15+ million humaniacs who dont see a diffrence in the two.
They are out to STOP hunting,fishing,rodeos,livestock shows and specific breeding programs. all you have to do is read an online news letter,its not like theyre trying to hide it.


Uncle Sam wants his cut but doesnt want to get his hands dirty.
One only has to look at the devistation in rural OK to see what a huge mistake TWO counties made for the rest of the state.
now they all pay.
and still it goes on.

[MOhillbilly]

BTW OK will be open before the years out (though not like it was) and Missouri and other states will follow.

[BIG_DADDY]

If its a law, and known that cock/dog-fighting is illegal....WHO is supposed to enforce that law? You expect the feds to just overlook it?

I'm not advocating that this wasn't overkill on the feds part, but if the People of tenn are so overwhelmingly supporting it, maybe they should work to make it a LEGAL activity.

We are talking about fricken chickens here good god. Maybe they should ask people what they want before they pass stupid ****ing laws instead of us having to correct things. Polititians could give a rats ass about what the people want. As an example Gavin Newsome the mayor of San Francisco knows breed specific legislation will never pass so what does he say. "Sometimes the government needs to step in and do what's best for people" Now we my county San Mateo and Contra Costa county along with San Francisco are all wanting to slaughter all pit bulls. These are the exact same humaniacs that want to take your guns and outlaw hunting. They want to emasculate everything resembling a real male and promote homosexuality. If you continue to fragment Iowanian we will loose it all. All you have to do is look at Europe and Canada to see the writing on the wall. They are the exact same movement trying to impliment things in the same manner here.

[BIG_DADDY]

Great, I just got this e-mailed to me as well.

The Desha County town of McGehee in southeast Arkansas has enacted a ban on pit bulls.

The ban prohibits pit bulls, Staffordshires, American bulldogs and dogs recognizable as pit bulls from being kept within the city limits. Those who already own such dogs can keep them, but these owners must abide by the following rules, as defined by McGehee Animal Control:

Be at least 21 years old.
Provide proof of rabies vaccination.
Spay or neuter the dog
Have a registration number tattooed on the dog’s abdomen.

Once a dog is registered, the owner must keep it in a secure house or kennel, or securely controlled by a leash no longer than 6 feet. A dog cannot be kept on a porch or patio, and houses where dogs covered by the ordinance are kept must have a sign reading "Beware of Dog."

Dogs of owners who do not adhere to the ordinance will be subject to impoundment for three days. A dog not claimed after three days will be "humanely destroyed" by McGehee Animal Control. Dogs that are claimed within the three-day period would be spayed or neutered before being returned to their owners, who would have to move the dogs outside the city limits.

If a dog is found inside the city limits a second time, its owner could be fined $1,000, sentenced to up to a year in jail or both. The dog would be "humanely destroyed."

Stuttgart, north of McGehee, passed a ban in December that places tough restrictions on the owners of Staffordshires, pit bulls and dogs that appear to be Staffordshires and pit bulls. The Prairie County town of Des Arc also places pit bull owners under strict guidelines. The Des Arc ordinance, passed in September, includes Rottweilers and Rottweiler mixes.

North Little Rock, Sherwood and Maumelle also have pit bull bans in place.

[Dartgod]

The ban prohibits pit bulls, Staffordshires, American bulldogs and dogs recognizable as pit bulls from being kept within the city limits.

Stuttgart, north of McGehee, passed a ban in December that places tough restrictions on the owners of Staffordshires, pit bulls and dogs that appear to be Staffordshires and pit bulls.
So if a dog is unfortunate enough to "look like a pit bull", even if it's not, they have to abide by these laws? Simply amazing... :shake:

[BIG_DADDY]

So if a dog is unfortunate enough to "look like a pitbull", even if it's not, they have to abide by these laws? Simply amazing... :shake:

Even more amazing. I ordered a treadmill for my dog so I don't get scrutinized so much in public. I just found out that owning a treadmill for a dog is a ****ing felony. :cuss:

If they can't ban it they will make it impossible to own. A chain no longer than 6 feet is inhumane. I love these humaniacs. These poor dogs and chickens we must save them. Then their idea of saving them is to kill them all, WTF is that all about?

This whole movement is being promoted by liberals. Talk about pushing somebody to the other side. I think we outta do what best for this country and euthanize these liberal **** heads. :bang:

Funny thing is I told people this would be an excuse to go after many breeds and people told me I was paranoid and made jokes about black helicopters and people looking in my window. How many subject to have to be right about this shit before somebody acknowleges that there just might be something to what I have been saying all along be it steroids, the war on drugs, giving up our individual freedoms of breed specific legislation.

[Spicy McHaggis]

Everything I've ever known is a chicken fight," said David Webb

Okay, I think you need to take a serious look at your life if you can say this man.