(Feb. 17) -- Prosecutors say they are taking a fresh look at a suspected cockfighting operation after seeing our Channel 8 I-Team report Monday night at 11 p.m. The Nye County D.A.'s office now says it has received a case file from sheriff's deputies and that it will review the evidence for possible prosecution on animal cruelty charges.
The owners of the 95 fighting roosters being held at the Pahrump Animal Shelter want their birds back. They also want the cars and trucks that were seized by the Sheriff's office during a December raid on a cockfighting operation at the ranch site on Pahrump's Homestead Road.
Some 200 people from Las Vegas and from out of state gathered for the event at a large arena that, in the past, had been used for another brutal sport -- horse tripping. Ten people were arrested for cockfighting, and lawmen say there was plenty of other illegal activity as well.
Tony DeMeo, Nye County Sheriff, said, "There is gang activity. There were firearms there, drugs, methamphetamine, other narcotics."
Some of the seized narcotics were meant for the birds, so they would fight more ferociously with steel talons strapped to their feet. Sheriff DeMeo said weeks ago that his office would not tolerate animal cruelty, but more than two months later; no charges have been filed against those who were arrested. The Nye D.A.'s office told the I-Team there had been a miscommunication and that, following our inquiries; the D.A. does plan to move forward with evaluating these cases.
It's unclear whether they will also go after the owners of the ranch. Hugo Lee of Las Vegas was listed as an owner but removed his name after the December raid, leaving Miguel Caro of Mexico as the sole owner. Also unclear is whether there is a connection between the Homestead ranch and the nearby rooster plantation, where hundreds of fighting birds are being raised.
A man called "Uncle" is the ranch caretaker. I-Team; "They're raised for fighting?" "Yeah for fighting. They go to Mexico, Tijuana, Ensenada," said Uncle.
SPCA activist Sara Ravlin says, "Birds like that run high in price. Whoever owns the property is making enormous amounts of money."
Records show the owner is Julian Aragon Perez, believed to have family in Las Vegas but who's been unavailable for comment.
Sheriff DeMeo and Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett say they are in agreement that cockfighting cannot be allowed in Pahrump. They also hinted that both of the ranches mentioned in this report have drawn the attention of federal law enforcement.