11 Plead No Contest to Charges of Attending Cockfight

Eleven Pauma Valley men pleaded no contest Wednesday to misdemeanor charges that they were at a cockfight last summer that led to the seizure of 36 fighting roosters.

The San Diego County Humane Society called the pleas by the large group of defendants “exceedingly rare,” because cockfighting, though considered endemic in the backcountry, is such a clandestine affair that arrests are unusual.

The men were arrested by sheriff’s deputies July 24 after authorities, acting on a tip, surrounded the North County ranch where the men had gathered around a plywood arena to watch the birds fight.

Tried to Run

The men tried to run from the deputies but were rounded up and charged with a violation of the penal code that prohibits not only the possession of fighting cocks but the mere presence as a spectator at a cockfight.

On Wednesday, each of the 11 men pleaded no contest before Vista Municipal Presiding Judge Victor Ramirez and were immediately sentenced to six months’ probation and fined $500. Ramirez suspended $250 of the fine on the promise of no further violations, and said he will reduce the misdemeanors to infractions in six months if the men have no further offenses. The men faced a maximum sentence of a year in jail.

The defendants were identified as Sam Carmichael, 35; Regulo C. Ramirez, 26; Clarito V. Velasco, 61; Rudy E. Ortin, 52; Nilo G. Carnaje, 50; Amparo S. Malibiran, 46; Reynaldo D. Carare, 37; Generoso F. Ventura, 56; Ascension G. Malibiran, 44; Constancio B. Santiago Sr., 63, and Benito A. Burgos, 43.

Burgos had two related cockfighting charges against him dropped in exchange for his no-contest plea, and Carmichael had a charge of resisting arrest dropped in exchange for his plea.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Valerie Chamberlain said she is pleased with the outcome of the case. “We consider cockfighting a serious offense. This case wasn’t taken lightly,” she said.

Surprisingly Common

Humane Society officials said they, too, are delighted by the results.

“To have 11 people plead no contest all at one time to cruelty-to-animal charges is exceedingly rare,” said society spokesman Larry Boersma. “Cockfighting is surprisingly common, but it’s also exceedingly difficult to catch them, since these are such clandestine things in back areas that are hard to spot.”

Two of the 36 birds were kept as evidence by the Humane Society and the rest were destroyed, he said.

Cockfighting involves the breeding and training of roosters that have razor-sharp tools attached to their legs. The birds slash at each other within the confines of a small arena until one drops dead from his injuries. Bets are made on which bird will win.

Boersma said that, when authorities made their move on the Pauma Valley group, one bird already had been killed in the day’s action.