Federal marshals discover cockfighting ring at home with suspect's belongings

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. Marshals looking for a man who escaped from police custody with his hands cuffed behind his back found chickens used in a cockfighting ring on the East Side Tuesday.

Marshals were in the 2900 block of Myron Street at about 10:30 a.m. looking for Juan Tufino, 25, who was wanted on warrants for domestic violence and escape. Tufino was found and in custody Wednesday night. During Tuesday's search marshals found several chickens in pens in the home's basement. Several were alive, but several were dead.

Several more dead chickens were found outside in trash bags, frozen solid. All told, about 20 chickens were found alive and more than 25 found dead. Bones of others were found in a fire pit in the back yard as well.

One of the marshals who served the warrant said he had never seen anything like it before.

Dave Nelson of the Mahoning County Dog Warden’s Office, who investigated several such crimes with other agencies in the past, said the number of alive and dead birds he found make Tuesday’s discovery one of the biggest rings he has ever seen.

Inside the house, Nelson said investigators found wound care products for the birds as well as bottles of medicine and syringes to inject the birds with medication. There were also ledgers inside listing the birds individually and how much money was wagered on fights they were engaged in.

In response to the case, Corey Roscoe, Ohio state director for The Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement: “Along with Alabama and Mississippi, Ohio has the weakest cockfighting law in the nation, so it is no surprise that this barbaric practice continues throughout the state. The Ohio General Assembly can solve this problem by passing House Bill 215, which would make cockfighting a felony here. It is currently awaiting a vote in the House and should be passed right away.”

Among organizations endorsing the bill are the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association, the Ohio Farm Bureau, the Ohio Poultry Association, Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association, Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Read more about the situation and fugitive Tufino in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.