Two Hunted, Accused Of Running Beecher Gameock Fighting Ring
Southtown Star Reporting
BEECHER--Warrants have been issued for two men accused of masterminding a Will County cockfighting ring.
Maximiano Torres-Velazquez, 60, and Rafael Rojas-Muniz, 29, face felony charges of animal entertainment after a raid on Torres-Velazquez's Beecher farm June 10.
Will County Animal Control found an undisclosed number of roosters it believes were being bred and trained for cockfighting during the raid, according to Will County sheriff's office spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer.
Three horses that were being maltreated also were removed during the raid with Torres-Velazquez's permission, Hoffmeyer said, declining to say why officers believed the roosters were for cockfighting.
Judge Steven White signed warrants for both men's arrests June 27, court records show.
In addition to the cockfighting charges, Torres-Velazquez also faces three misdemeanor charges connected with the mistreatment of horses on his farm.
But two weeks after they were issued, the warrants have yet to be executed.
Torres-Velazquez, contacted on his isolated farm in the 3100 block of Cottage Grove Avenue on Friday, said he knew "nothing" about his impending arrest.
His son Benjamin Torres denied the family was involved in cockfighting and said he believed the case already had been settled with investigators.
"We were looking after the roosters for Rafael," he said, "He was breeding them, but not for fighting."
"All of the horses are fine," he said.
Rojas-Muniz, who lives on Chicago's North Side, could not be reached for comment Friday.
Hoffmeyer declined to comment Friday on why the warrants had not been carried out, saying, "We don't want to jeopardize the case by commenting further."
Will County Animal Control and the Illinois Department of Agriculture, which also participated in the June 10 raid, also declined to comment.
"The matter is still under investigation," a spokesman for animal control administrator Dr. Leroy Schild said.
Fighting roosters, which spar with metal spikes attached to their feet, can be worth as much as $3,000 each, previous busts have shown, while gamblers bet tens of thousands of dollars on fights.
The largest cockfighting bust in Illinois history was made by Will County sheriff's police in 2002 on a farm outside Plainfield.
As many as 1,000 gamecocks were seized in that raid.
Copyright 2008 STNG Wire, The Chicago Sun-Times. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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