Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

A Summerdale man faces allegations of setting up a cockfighting ring outside his home where dozens of people bet on battles between the birds, a law-enforcement official said. Francisco Hurtado, 34, is charged with cockfighting, conspiracy to promote gambling and cruelty to animals. All three of the counts are misdemeanors. Baldwin County sheriff's deputies received an anonymous call Sunday morning about illegal gambling on Woodhaven Dairy Road East, near Fish River, according to Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. John Murphy. They arrived to find a large number of cars and about 50 people crowded around an outdoor pit lined with plywood, he said. A few people scattered into a wooded area nearby when deputies approached, Murphy said. "Through the course of several interviews, it was determined that they were gambling on the chicken fights," Murphy said. The cockfights may have been ongoing for some time, he added. "You could tell that it was something that hadn't just been put up," Murphy said. "The pen had been there, there were chairs out there, garbage, beer cans, a fairly decent amount of people there for some time greater than just that morning." Deputies found at least 20 birds on the property, several of which were "aggressive" birds, but did not have the means or authority to confiscate them, according to the spokesman. "You can't just turn them loose," he said. One rooster was dead, and two of the birds had been injured. Raising such birds is legal and, Murphy added, "pretty common throughout the county and throughout the region." Hurtado posted a $5,000 bond and was released, according to jail officials. No court date has been set. Conspiracy to promote gambling is a Class A misdemeanor, and is punishable by up to a year in jail, while cruelty to animals is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. The penalty for cockfighting is a fine between $25 and $50.