Pahrump (FOX5) — Nye County officials seized hundreds of birds and arrested three people in what authorities say is the largest cockfighting operation the department has investigated.
Jorge Guzman Torres, Grisel Juarez Diaz, and Ignacio Juarez Gomez were arrested after deputies identified properties from a social media video.
“We have had tips and investigations in the past on cockfighting, but nothing of this scale that we investigated and broken up,” said Nye County Under Sheriff Corey Fowles.
MORE ON FOX5: Three arrested in large-scale cockfighting operation in Pahrump
Investigation began with social media
Arrest reports obtained by FOX5 Investigates show the investigation started when a deputy found an account on a social media app showing individuals raising roosters and hens for fighting. Deputies recognized features of the property where videos were filmed.
“That is the work of our deputies and detectives, and my hats off to them. They know their town, they know their neighborhoods. When they saw these videos, the deputies and detectives were able to recognize certain features on the property they were being filmed on,” Fowles said.
The account included hashtags related to game farms and fighting roosters. In one video posted in February, a male said the birds were raised to fight in Pahrump, according to arrest documents.
Arrest reports show deputies identified four addresses owned by Torres. The birds were housed at single-family residences.
“It was a single-family type residence that you walked into, and the animals were housed in the back of the property,” Fowles said. “It looked like, from the back of the photos that I saw, it looked like a greenhouse.”
Owner faces 189 charges
Nye County officials say Torres is the owner of properties on East Begonia Street, East Camellia Street, and two on South Rebel Avenue. Officials found a third-place cockfighting certificate with Torres’ name on it during a search warrant.
Torres faces 189 charges, including 56 for animal abuse. Arrest reports show many of the roosters had their combs removed, which USDA agents said is done to reduce blood flow during fights.
Investigators seized nearly 500 birds and they say they also found gaffs, which are sharp implements attached to roosters during fights.
“There were basically the knives that they put on their feet,” Fowles said.
Investigators also seized a rifle, cash and 11 counterfeit identity documents, including seven Social Security cards and four Nevada driver’s licenses.
USDA caring for birds
All birds remain on the property with the USDA caring for them.
“We don’t have the capacity to handle 500 of these birds, and there is concern that these animals are dangerous, they are trained to fight. It is important that people are trained to have the equipment and experience to care for these animals as best as they can now,” Fowles said.
The sheriff’s office said the USDA is overseeing the property because of the threat of bird flu. A USDA team from Reno will collect the birds, but it is unknown when that will happen.
Homeland Security has stepped in to investigate the immigration status of two of the suspects.
The Nye County District Attorney’s office has not responded to a request for comment on next steps for the suspects.
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