Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office detectives searching a property on SW 309th Street on Tuesday found hundreds of roosters, enclosed training rings, and a full cockfighting arena complete with numbered spectator seating and a score display. Two men were arrested and now face felony charges tied to the operation.
According to WSVN 7News, the search began as part of an environmental crimes investigation before detectives uncovered the elaborate setup on the semi-rural Southwest Miami-Dade property. As CBS News Miami reported, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office said it arrested two men suspected of taking part in the illegal cockfighting ring.
Suspect Angel Ponce-Maqueda admitted to feeding and caring for the caged roosters on site, WSVN reported. Property owner Jesus Oliva told detectives he knew fighting equipment was on the property but denied any active fighting was taking place, claiming the arena and training rings were no longer in use. Ponce-Maqueda faced four felony charges related to animal fighting and cruelty, while Oliva faced multiple animal-cruelty-related charges; both were held on $10,000 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, per the same account.
Part of a Wider October Enforcement Wave
The SW 309th Street case lands less than three weeks after a much larger Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office cockfighting investigation that began with an FBI search of a 10-acre property on SW 51st Street in Horse Country. That October 3 search, which Hoodline first reported as uncovering thousands of gamefowl roosters, eventually led to charges against property owner Marcie Rochell Newmark and suspects Carlos Rafael Lezcano and Sergio Ruiz-Osorio, according to Local 10 News.
That case also exposed the toll these operations take on local animal welfare agencies. Local 10 News reported that Miami-Dade Animal Services ultimately euthanized 3,110 roosters found on the Horse Country property. Rescuers also pulled severely neglected livestock from the same site, including infected goats and a malnourished pony, the station reported.
It isn't the first time Southwest Miami-Dade has seen a large-scale fighting bust. Back in May 2025, deputies arrested 42 people at a residence on SW 192nd Avenue after responding to a call reporting a fight allegedly involving knives and machetes; deputies found roosters roaming freely after arriving. The raid was covered by Hoodline in a report that showed bodycam footage of the mass arrest, with attendees charged with attending animal fighting and resisting without violence.
New State Law Raises the Stakes
The arrests come as Florida tightens its legal framework around animal fighting. Under Section 828.122 of the state's Animal Fighting Act, knowingly breeding, training, transporting, owning, possessing, or using any animal for fighting is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, according to Online Sunshine. Separately, Section 828.12 of the state's animal-cruelty law addresses animal cruelty, according to Online Sunshine.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 559 in May, and the law took effect October 1, creating new third-degree felony offenses for adults who conduct animal fighting or cruelty in the presence of minors, according to a statement from the Governor Ron DeSantis Press Office. The law also elevates offense severity rankings under state sentencing guidelines. Per the Florida Senate, HB 559 further requires the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to publish an animal-abuse offender registry listing names, booking photos, case outcomes, and identifying marks; the listed periods are three years after first misdemeanor convictions and five years after first felony convictions, with a separate ten-year period for subsequent convictions.
Local governments are moving in tandem with the new state authority. City of Miami commissioners this month considered ordinances that would raise civil animal cruelty fines to $2,500 for a first offense, $5,000 for a second, and $7,500 for subsequent offenses per animal, according to Miami Today. At the SW 309th Street property, detectives found physical features including a score display, spectator seating, and training rings, while Oliva said the arena and rings were no longer in use.
