Man pleads guilty in cockfighting

A South Los Angeles man accused of running a cockfighting ring pleaded guilty Tuesday to cockfighting and animal cruelty, authorities said.

Israel Ramirez, 53, was arrested in June after Los Angeles police broke up a cockfight at his home on 108th Street, where officers arrested 10 spectators along with Ramirez and seized 50 roosters, said district attorney’s spokeswoman Shiara Davila.

Officers recovered one dead rooster and two severely injured birds. All the confiscated birds were euthanized, Davila said.

Along with the birds, officers discovered a blood-spattered pit set up for the fights as well as a betting spreadsheet and cockfighting tools, including sparring gloves for the birds, she said.

Ramirez, who has a prior misdemeanor conviction for cockfighting, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 7.

-- Jack Leonard