Full Notification

Public Information Release
April 8, 2014
Lieutenant Steve Brooks, Public Information Officer


A vehicle stop conducted Sunday night has resulted in six arrests, the seizure of $66,000.00 and 9 fighting roosters.

On April 6, 2014 at approximately 8:40 pm, a deputy noticed a green Ford Expedition traveling westbound on Highway 20 in Upper Lake, which had a defective brake light. The deputy conducted an enforcement stop on Highway 20, near Old Lake County Road in Upper Lake.

The driver was identified as 31 year old Anthony Alarcon Jimenez of Merced. The deputy explained the reason for the stop and asked Jimenez for the vehicle registration. The front passenger, who was identified as 26 year old Ociel Mendez, opened the glove box to retrieve the registration. The deputy immediately noticed a hypodermic syringe in the glove box when it was opened. The deputy also detected the odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle and noticed a small amount of loose marijuana on the floor of the vehicle. Also inside the vehicle were 35 year old Oscar Salvio Barajas of Chowchilla, 37 year old Valentine Valencia Chavez of Stockton, 28 year old Francisco Zavala Infante of Los Angeles and a 17 year old juvenile male.

During a search of the vehicle, deputies located $24,000.00 cash which was loose on the floor. All six denied ownership of the $24,000.00 and did not know who it belonged to. Deputies located an additional $42,000.00, which was the combined total seized from all six subjects. The vehicle also contained 9 roosters which had been physically altered for fighting purposes. The wattle’s and combs had been cut off the roosters because they bleed easily and can interfere with the birds as they are fighting. This is a common procedure performed on fighting roosters, which is also referred to dubbing. Deputies located a bag in the vehicle which contained numerous metal spur blades which are razor sharp. The spur blades are attached to the rooster’s legs and are used during the fights to cut the opponent bird. Some of the spur blades located had what appeared to be dried blood on them. The bag also contained several leather spur covers which are used during the pre-fight sparing. The deputy said the roosters were kept in individual cardboard boxes and noticed that each bird had its weight written on the box.

The deputies inspected the birds and noticed some had visible injuries to their head and beak area. Lake County Animal Control responded to the scene and confirmed the roosters were abused and being used for fighting purposes. They took possession of the roosters and transported them to their facility.

During the interviews, the subjects advised they were from Merced, Chowchilla and Stockton. They had traveled to Lake County for a rooster show, but never made it. One of the subjects said they went to a rooster show at a ranch off of Highway 20 in Lake County, where subjects were fighting roosters for money.

Jimenez, Mendez, Barajas, Chavez and Infante were arrested for cruelty to animals, make/take bets on contest, possession of fighting bird equipment, possession of fighting roosters and permitting a bird fight. They were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked. The juvenile was arrested for possession of bird fighting equipment and possession of fighting roosters. He was transported to Lake County Juvenile Hall and booked. The $66,000.00 was seized pending asset forfeiture proceedings.