Cockfighting match in progress as deputies make bust, officials say

A search of a Valinda home Saturday uncovered 50 roosters, several dead birds and a caged-in arena that L.A. County Sheriff's Department officials believed was a cockfighting arena.

According to a statement from the Sheriff's Department, an anonymous tip led deputies to the home, where they found 40 men watching a cockfighting match. Many of the them fled, but deputies arrested three men.

Deputies believe the home on Fairgrove Avenue was being used by a cockfighting ring.

Frank Hernandez, 67, of Rancho Cucamonga; Gamiz Concepcion, 64, of Pomona; and Eduardo Chaves, 63, of La Puente, were arrested on suspicion of cockfighting.

The birds were turned over to animal control.

ALSO:

Late-spring rain, snow hitting L.A.

Measles cases rising in California, health officials say

State investigating claims of illegal killing of mountain lions at Tejon Ranch

--Shelby Grad

Photo: Inside the alleged Valinda cockfighting ring. L.A. County Sheriff's Department