Man charged with animal cruelty for allegedly neglecting animals used in cockfighting ring
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RIGBY — A Rigby man has been charged after deputies reportedly discovered he had been neglecting roosters, hens, and chicks and making them fight each other for money.
Carlos Negrete is charged with misdemeanors for cruelty to animals, exhibition of cockfighting, and impounding animals without food or water.
According to Idaho Code, animal cruelty is a misdemeanor until you’ve been charged with it three times – then you can be charged with a felony.
Court documents say that on Sept. 4, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office received a request to check on the welfare of poultry at a home on the 3000 block of East 200 North in Rigby. The reporting party stated, “No one has been caring for the poultry since Negrete was evicted on Aug. 14.”
The reporting party said they provided the animals with some wild bird feed and a bucket of water on the same day of the report, but before this, the animals were alone for approximately 21 days.
When deputies arrived, they saw several wire cages near the back of the home with “several roosters and hens inside them.”
Police reports say the species of poultry included American Game Fowl, Hatch, Kelso, Roundhead, butcher, and Claret, which deputies say are “the type of breeds used for ‘cockfighting.'”
Deputies reportedly noticed that all of the plastic feed containers were empty, and there was “minimal water available” for the animals. One deputy reportedly observed “the feathers of the poultry to have been plucked out.” Court documents say this can happen due to a lack of food and water.
Deputies reportedly found more metal cages inside the garage containing roosters and hens and a hen with two chicks outside the cages.
Again, the food and water containers were allegedly empty, and deputies could not find any food on the property to give them. Feathers had reportedly been plucked from these animals, too, and “several eggs had been laid by the loose hen throughout the garage.”
Deputies contacted a regional veterinarian who arrived at the property and “declared the poultry to be in poor conditions.”
Court documents say the animals were displaying “erratic behavior and signs of distress, indicating cruelty and lack of proper care.” The animals were then seized and placed in the custody of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
In total, deputies seized seven roosters, four hens, and two chicks.
On Oct. 8, a woman known to Negrete claimed to deputies that she and her child had been feeding the poultry since Negrete was evicted.
The woman also stated that she provided an attorney with photos and messages showing Negrete at a “cockfight” and said he paid up to $500 for some of the poultry. She did not provide these photos or messages to deputies. In the messages, court documents say Negrete and the woman would place bets on the poultry for up to $900. The woman has not been charged in regard to this case.
Deputies also reportedly learned that Negrete had brought some poultry from Las Vegas, Nevada.
A warrant was issued for Negrete’s arrest on Oct. 17, and he was booked into the Jefferson County Jail on Oct. 21 on a bond of $5,000. He paid bail and was released on the same day. Negrete has pleaded not guilty and is expected to appear for a pre-trial conference on Nov. 18.
If convicted, he could face up to two years in prison.
Though Negrete has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.