Florida man arrested after ordering pizza to his own illegal cockfight

Cockfight

 

A Florida man has been arrested and charged with a handful of interesting crimes–and gotten into some hot water with his friends–after he inadvertantly exposed his own illegal cockfighting ring by ordering a pizza to his barn.

38-year-old Eliut Jose Serrano Hernandez ordered just one pizza to his home down in Polk County FL, but wasn’t exactly prompt about greeting the driver at the door. During his brief time on the property, the delivery man–whose name has been withheld in order to protect his identity–observed a great many roosters roaming about, along with a cockfighting ring sitting visible thanks to the wide open door of a barn.

The driver called the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to report his discovery. When deputies arrived, they found upwards of sixty hens, roosters, and small chickens, roaming freely around the barn and in cages nearby.

Deputies also found the following cockfighting paraphernalia: a great deal of trash and rooster droppings; a table covered with rooster spur clippers and rooster spur clippings; a cooler full of tiny rooster boxing gloves–seriously–for the roosters to train with; ceramic spur augmentors, for deadlier clawing; and actual bottles of ” Mexican rooster medication,” the precise purpose of which remains uncertain.

Hernandez was arrested and charged with the following crimes: nine counts of possession of animals for the purpose of baiting or fighting; four counts of possessing equipment used for the purpose of baiting animals; and a single count of leasing a property for the purpose of baiting or fighting animals.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd remained magnanimous about the situation, saying “We really appreciate this pizza delivery driver calling us. Frankly, I can’t understand why someone would ask for a pizza delivery during an illegal cock fight, but are happy to also make house calls. It’s pretty funny when you think about it.”

 

(Photo credits: Cockfight, pizza, delivery van via Flickr)


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