29 Animals Rescued By Joliet Police, 2 Animal Torturers With Ties to Mexico Arrested: Chief

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Police Department held a 10 a.m. press conference on Thursday to reveal that 29 animals have been safely rescued from a house in the 400 block of Meeker Avenue and that many of the animals, roosters, were bred and used in the lucrative underground sport known as cockfighting.

Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans announced that the two Joliet men arrested on multiple charges of animal torture/cruelty and drug charges are 39-year-old Ronaldo Rodriguez-Gasca and 51-year-old Fortino Rodriguez. Their property in the 400 block of Meeker was the focus of Wednesday's Joliet Police Department raid that recovered a total of 29 animals, officials said.

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Joliet police said that the animals recovered and turned over to Joliet Township Animal Control consisted of several roosters, hens, chicks and one young terrier puppy.

The Joliet Police search warrant also recovered equipment used for deadly high-stakes rooster fights, including transporting containers, metal spurs and straps.

"A large number of roosters were in cages and in the backyard," Chief Evans revealed.

He said that the Joliet police investigation initially began as a drug-dealing operation. Then, the scope of the case expanded greatly after Joliet police detectives and animal rescue officers realized that a rooster fighting operation was taking place in the 400 block of Meeker.

At the press conference, Chief Evans praised the exemplary work of Joliet Police Officer Katelyn Kozielski and Detective Jeremy Eaton.

While standing at the press conference podium, Kozielski revealed that the co-defendants were involved in traveling back and forth to Mexico for the purpose of shipping animals. "So the case is going," she remarked.

Kozielski indicated that Joliet police found evidence of a breeding operation involving the roosters on Meeker Avenue. She said that rooster fighting operations typically involve alcohol consumption, videotaping the fights, gambling with lots of money and, ultimately, the death of some of the roosters who lose the competition.

The winning roosters are used for breeding purposes and traded, she said. "It's a very underground effort," she explained.

Will County Jail logs indicate that at 4:50 p.m. Wednesday, 39-year-old Ronaldo Rodriguez-Gasca of the 400 block of Meeker Avenue was booked into the county detention facility on charges of cruelty to animals, animal torture, owning animals for sport fighting, three crimes of possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver and two counts of possession of controlled substances.

Here is the key information contained from the Joliet Police Department press release issued after the press conference:

"Over the past several weeks, the Joliet Police Narcotics Unit
conducted an investigation involving a residence in the 400 block of Meeker Avenue. During the course of that investigation, officers observed a large number of roosters confined in cages in the backyard. As the investigation progressed, information was developed indicating these animals may have been used for fighting purposes. Based on those findings, the scope of the investigation was expanded.

"As part of the narcotics investigation, detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence and for resident Rolando Rodriguez-Gasca, age 39 of Joliet. On the morning of April 29, 2026, members of our Narcotics Unit along with officers from our Tactical Unit, K9 Unit, Neighborhood Oriented Policing Team, and Patrol Division, executed that search warrant. Priorto the warrant being served, tactical officers conducted a traffic stop and safely took Rodriguez-Gasca into custody after observing him leave the residence.

"During the execution of the search warrant, officers located another individual inside the residence, identified as Fortino Rodriguez, age 51 of Joliet, who was also taken into custody. A
search of the home resulted in the recovery of suspected cocaine and cash. While at the home, officers located numerous roosters both inside and outside of the residence,
along with equipment consistent with an illegal animal fighting operation. At that point, members of our Animal Crimes Team were activated and responded to assist further expanding the investigation.

"A second search warrant was subsequently obtained by the Animal Crimes Team related to the animal cruelty component of the case. In total, 29 animals were recovered from the property, including roosters, hens, chicks, and a
young terrier puppy. Several of the roosters showed physical alterations consistent with animal fighting. Investigators also recovered equipment associated with these activities, including metal spurs, straps, medications, and transport containers. Working in coordination with Joliet Township Animal Control and the Will County State’s
Attorney’s Office, all animals were safely removed and are now receiving proper medical care."

In any event, these charges are just the latest cockfighting-related arrests in the area. Several people were arrested in the Plainfield area in 2025 in connection with an alleged cockfighting ring, with hundreds of animals recovered.

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