MAYS LANDING — An Atlantic County man has admitted he ran a cockfighting ring on his property in Galloway Township.
Jose Madera, 33, was among 51 people arrested during a March 9 raid that also led to the seizure of several dozen roosters and $37,000 in cash, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
It said the property on the 300 block of South Bremen Avenue held a cockfighting ring with seating for spectators.
About 50 roosters in varying degrees of health were found in crates, boxes and bags, the prosecutor’s office said.
Investigators also encountered a large group of people, many of them trying to flee, it said.
Madera tried to escape by fleeing into a wooded area, the prosecutor’s office added.
Madera, an Egg Harbor City resident, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, admitted guilt to organizing and maintaining a cockfighting ring.
He also pleaded guilty to multiple counts of animal cruelty, including one charge based on the condition of a dog at the property that required emergency surgery.
He also admitted guilt to a drug offense and to resisting arrest by flight, the prosecutor’s office said.
Under a plea agreement, Madera faces a recommended sentence of five years on probation, conditioned on spending 364 days in Atlantic County Jail.
Among other conditions, he must serve 30 days of community service, preferably at an animal shelter or rescue, and will be barred from acquiring new animals or living with any animals, the prosecutor’s office said.
He is to be sentenced Oct. 29.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Jose Madera also admits guilt to drug charge and animal cruelty
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