Deputies raid cockfighting ring in Moorpark

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The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department broke up a cockfighting event in progress in a Moorpark orchard this weekend, arresting five men and confiscating property, including cars, of the attendees who fled. The Ventura County Star reports:

Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call at 8:30 a.m. Sunday about a cockfight in an orchard off Campus Park Drive east of the Rustic Canyon Golf Course.

Several people fled the scene, but deputies apprehended five men: Ruben Joseph Becerra, 56, and Joseph David Becerra, 26, both of Littlerock; Roberto Padilla Ramirez, 51, and Valentine Chocoteco Jr., 26, both of Bakersfield; and Daniel Figueroa, 42, of Los Angeles, authorities said.

All five were arrested on suspicion of various cockfighting violations, officials said.

Animal control officers seized about 75 roosters, although they remain dubious that they’ll be able to find new homes for them since they’ve been trained to act aggressively.

-- Lindsay Barnett