Fourth Person Charged In Plumstead Cockfighting Ring: Police

PLUMSTEAD TOWNSHIP, PA — A fourth person has now been charged by police in connection with a cockfighting ring broken up earlier this year by Plumstead Township Police.

Mario Aldape-Palma, 59, of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, has been charged with animal fighting (a third degree felony) and fleeing or attempting to elude an officer (a second degree misdemeanor).

Police said Aldape-Palma was among the 25 to 30 spectators watching the fight when police arrived. When officers tried to apprehend him, police said he ignored officer's commands to stop and entered his vehicle. Police directed Aldape-Palma to exit his car, according to court documents. Again, police said he ignored the officer's commands and drove away.

Police were able to document his vehicle's registration and obtained a copy of his driver's license photo, which allowed police to make a positive identification. Police subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest.

Aldape-Palma was arraigned on May 17 before Magisterial District Judge Gary Gambardella who set bail at $15,000. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 1.

After receiving an anonymous tip, Plumstead Township Police responded to the report of cockfight in progress on Feb. 18. When police arrived, they found two roosters fighting in a ring built inside a two-car garage and a crowd of about 25 people fleeing the scene.

Police notified the Buck County SPCA, which sent a team to the scene.

When the SPCA arrived, they found two bloodied roosters running loose and injured from the recent fight. The SPCA reported there were 44 additional roosters, hens and pullets kept in cages and small boxes in and around the garage, and two others that were inside a locked vehicle parked in the driveway. Four roosters were found deceased inside a barrel behind the garage.

The SPCA also reported that the caged animals had no food, had inadequate shelter and had only frozen water to drink.

An investigation of the property turned up razor-sharp metal blades (spurs) that are tied to the rooster's legs to inflict maximum harm on their opponents, the SPCA said.

According to the SPCA, many of the roosters had had their combs and wattles cut off, a common practice with birds used for fighting. Other roosters, said the SPCA, were found to have injuries and deep puncture wounds, likely the result of fighting.

At the scene, police took one man into custody - Cesar Cordova-Morales of Oxford. He was found carrying a satchel containing several bottles of steroids, cutting instruments, string, artificial

metal spurs, spur covers and other items commonly used in cockfighting, police said.

He was charged with animal fighting, a third degree felony, and possessing animal fighting paraphernalia, a third degree misdemeanor. His formal arraignment is scheduled for June 14.

Police later arrested and charged the owners of the property - Manfid Duran and Mara Guadalupe Duran - with 46 counts each of animal neglect and 46 counts each of owning, processing and selling animals for fighting.

Cockfighting is illegal in all 50 states and is a third-degree felony offense in Pennsylvania. It is also a federal offense to transport animals across state lines for the purchase of fighting.