What started as a midweek raid in Pahrump turned into one of Nye County’s largest alleged cockfighting busts in recent memory. Deputies say they seized 478 birds, 11 firearms and more than $60,000 in cash on Wednesday while serving two search warrants at local properties, arresting three people and dismantling what investigators call a large-scale operation built around breeding, conditioning and fighting birds.
Authorities say the scope of the seizure raised more than cruelty concerns. With hundreds of birds packed onto the properties, officials cited public-safety and biosecurity risks to nearby poultry flocks along with the alleged illegal gambling and weapons involved.
According to KTNV, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jorge Guzman Torres, Grisel Juarez Diaz and Ignacio Juarez Gomez during coordinated raids at the two Pahrump locations. The warrants targeted sites investigators believed were being used to breed and train birds specifically for fighting, and deputies reported finding equipment and conditions they say matched an organized cockfighting setup.
What Investigators Found
As reported by FOX5, deputies seized 478 birds, cockfighting implements, 11 firearms and more than $60,000 in cash while serving the two search warrants. Investigators say the operation centered on breeding and conditioning birds for illegal fights, and multiple sheriff’s units were involved in executing the warrants.
Federal partners, including Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, assisted Nye County animal control and sheriff’s personnel during the search, according to the station. Those federal agencies routinely get pulled in when animal-health and cross-border concerns may be in play.
Charges And Alleged Offenses
Prosecutors have stacked up a long list of counts against each of the three defendants. Per KTNV, Jorge Guzman Torres faces dozens of felony charges, including 56 counts of owning birds for the purpose of cockfighting, along with multiple animal-abuse counts and charges tied to possessing gaffs.
Grisel Juarez Diaz is charged with 29 felony counts of owning birds for fighting and related animal-abuse offenses. Ignacio Juarez Gomez is accused of operating a premises for cockfighting, owning a fighting bird and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, among other counts, according to the same report.
What The Law Says
Nevada law bans staging, owning or training animals to fight, and it also criminalizes the possession or sale of gaffs and similar devices. The statute spells out penalties ranging from gross misdemeanors for some gaff-related violations to category E or D felonies for owning, promoting or profiting from animal fighting, with stiffer consequences for repeat offenders, as compiled by Justia. The law also allows authorities to seize animals, gear and other property used in illegal fighting operations.
Part Of A Wider Crackdown
Local officials are not the only ones busy tearing down alleged cockfighting rings this year. Across the country, similar raids have turned up hundreds of birds at a time, often alongside evidence of large-scale gambling and concerns about disease spread.
In February, California authorities seized more than 800 roosters during a Sonoma County raid, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. On the other side of the country, a separate operation in Connecticut led to roughly 273 birds being seized and about 100 people arrested, per NBC Connecticut.
Agriculture and animal-health officials warn that birds from fighting rings can carry contagious diseases, which is one reason federal partners such as the USDA sometimes join local crackdowns even when the cases center on state animal-cruelty laws.
What Happens Next
The three Pahrump defendants remain in custody as Nye County prosecutors review the evidence and prepare formal filings. Initial reports indicate that court dates had not yet been posted at the time of the early coverage.
According to FOX5, immigration status will be documented in public records, with one defendant identified as a permanent resident and another as undocumented. Those details could play a role in related administrative proceedings that may follow the criminal case.
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation is still active and that officials will continue working with state and federal partners to determine what happens to the seized birds, the alleged cockfighting equipment and the other evidence collected during the raids.
