The arrest of a Lakeland man this week for allegedly threatening to kill an 80-year-old relative led to the discovery of a cockfighting operation, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Deputies found more than 40 roosters at a South Lakeland property Wednesday that showed of signs of being prepared for staged fights, according to an arrest report. That included 20 chickens that had been killed and two more so badly injured that they had to be euthanized.
Deputies arrested Rey Sanchez of Lakeland for allegedly killing and maiming the roosters in order to harm their owner, the 80-year-old man, who wasn’t named in the initial report, as an alleged victim of domestic violence.
But the man was also arrested after a search allegedly found evidence that he owned roosters used for fighting and deputies found cockfighting equipment in his home. Through that arrest, he was publicly identified as Rafael Sanchez.
Both men were being held without bond Friday in the Polk County Jail.
The investigation began when deputies responded to a call of a disturbance at 1205 Cherry Lane. They determined that Rey Sanchez had threatened to kill Rafael Sanchez and his family, PCSO reported.
The two men’s relationship was redacted in the arrest report, but it said they had previously lived together as family members and Rey Sanchez resided in a large shed on the property.
The arrest report provided this narrative: After being threatened, Rafael Sanchez fled in a vehicle and Rey Sanchez followed him to a gas station before returning home. Rafael then called police for help. Rey Sanchez, meanwhile, called the man and said, “If I can’t kill you, I’m going to kill your chickens.”
Deputies arrived at the Cherry Lane property and found Rey Sanchez, who tossed an item later determined to be a loaded Bersa Thunder .380 semi-automatic pistol. Deputies arrested Sanchez on charges of domestic violence assault with a victim over 65 and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
Deputies also discovered 20 dead chickens on the property, along with two roosters that were still alive but severely injured and barely able to walk or breathe. Those roosters were humanly euthanized because of the severity of their injuries.
The dead and injured chickens had cut combs and trimmed or sharpened natural spurs with cloth wrapped around their legs, deputies observed. Those were indications that the roosters had been prepared for staged fights.
Looking through a sliding glass door in a building behind the main residence, a deputy reported seeing a fighting ring and a scale used for weighing roosters. That led to a search warrant for the entire property.
Deputies found 21 more roosters in separate cages with cut combs and sharpened or trimmed natural spurs, indicative of cockfighting.
Searching an outbuilding, deputies found further evidence of cockfighting, the report said. That included a fighting ring, a scale for weighing roosters, a clock for timing cockfights, several pens, fighting spurs and a baiting stick used for training roosters to fight. A deputy observed blood around the fighting ring and the walls of the building, along with chicken feathers scattered around the floor, the report said.
Both Rafael Sanchez and Rey Sanchez had access to the building, PCSO reported.
A search of the main residence found medication and supplements commonly used for fighting roosters; scissors used for cutting roosters’ combs; cockfighting trophies, flags and other memorabilia; and a rooster carrier in a garage, the report said.
Deputies searched the shed where Rey Sanchez lived and discovered more cockfighting equipment, including spurs, medication, a timer and a rooster carrier, the report said.
Rey Sanchez used a bedroom in the main house to store his belongings, the report said. Searching it, deputies found more cockfighting supplies and also a clear baggie containing a white powder determined through a field test to be cocaine, along with a digital scale, the report said.
Both men were arrested on charges related to breeding, training or using an animal for fighting.
During interrogations, both suspects denied ownership of the fighting roosters, PCSO reported. A witness, identified as Rafael Sanchez’s wife, told deputies the roosters belong to both men and that they trained the birds for fighting.
The Sanchez property is set back from Cherry Lane and blocked from view by a solid fence. It is bordered by a small pasture on one side and an undeveloped parcel to the back. A row of rental properties lies to the north of the property, separated by a solid fence.
Rey Sanchez served two years in prison starting in 2003 for convictions in Hillsborough County on cocaine trafficking, false imprisonment, vehicle theft and robbery with a firearm. He was arrested in Polk County May 2019 on charges of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and resisting arrest without violence.