90 Arrested at Cockfight in Sun Valley
About 90 people were arrested and 95 game birds confiscated when police raided a cockfight in Sun Valley after receiving an anonymous tip Saturday, Los Angeles police said.
The illegal fights were being staged in a blood-spattered wooden arena in the back yard of a house in the 11200 block of Goss Street, said Lt. Steve Moede, head of the North Hollywood Division’s vice unit.
“There was one dead bird inside the ring, and there were about five birds that had been killed and thrown off in a corner,” Moede said.
Among those arrested in the 11:45 a.m. raid was Juan Valadez, 25, owner of the property, Moede said. Also arrested was Jose Maldonado, 25, of Canyon Country, who acted as the fight’s “bank,” Moede said. He had a .45-caliber automatic pistol and $4,000 in cash, the lieutenant said.
Investigators were trying to determine who organized the cockfight, Moede said.
Officers arrested the spectators on suspicion of being at a cockfight, a misdemeanor. About 60 of them were released at the scene. The rest were taken to the North Hollywood Division because of outstanding warrants or inadequate identification, he said.
Eight of the spectators were minors, he said.
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