Prunedale man arrested on animal cruelty charges including possession of Cockfighting Tools

PRUNEDALE, Calif. (KION-TV)- The Monterey County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous report of cockfighting near the Red Barn in Pruendale around 11:30 p.m. on Friday night.

Deputies responded to the area and identified a property in the 1200 block of Redbarn Road to be where the incident was taking place.

Deputies arrested 37-year-old Jairo Bucio of Pruendale on animal cruelty charges which includes possession of cockfighting tools on Friday night

Upon their arrival at the location of the incident, deputies saw over 100 attendees who then fled into a wooded area adjacent to the property. Attendees were contacted by deputies and detained.

During the investigation, deputies recovered a .22 caliber long rifle, cockfighting spurs, deceased roosters, injured roosters, and live roosters along with various other cockfighting indicia. Twelve subjects were cited and released from the scene for a violation of attending a cockfight.

Bucio was arrested and booked at the Monterey County Jail on animal cruelty charges which also include misdemeanor charges of Attending a Cockfight, Possession of Cockfighting Tools and Delaying/Resisting a Peace Officer.

Deputies said that the SPCA has been notified and will be conducting a follow-up investigation.