Cuban arrested in Hialeah for training fighting cocks

AndCuban from Hialeah was arrested for training roosters for illegal fights at your auto parts store.

Juan Romero, 58 years old, is the owner of A&M A/C Auto Parts Inc., where police found a cockfighting ring and several birds.

The arrest occurred Thursday when economic crimes detectives were working in the 4600 block of 10th Street and saw a large number of individual cages placed in an alley.

The owner of a nearby business let them check the back of his establishment, where there were more caged roosters, as well as red foam, which is used as an agitator to train roosters to fight.

Upon leaving the alley, the agents encountered Romero, who admitted being the owner of the animals and gave the officers permission to enter his business, located at 4630 East 10th Street.

According to his arrest report, to which he had accessAmerica TeVe, theRoosters showed signs of fighting, with some feathers torn from their legs.

In all, the detectivesThey discovered about 160 fighting cocks inside individual cagesconfirmed Eddie Rodríguez, of the Hialeah Police Department.

The Cuban appeared on Friday afternoon accused of possession of animals for fighting, illegal possession of equipment for animal fighting and use of property to practice animal fighting.

He is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center andHe was placed on $5,000 bail..

Cubans engaged in cockfighting in Miami are relatively frequently discovered, an activity that many carry out in Cuba, where it is equally illegal.

In October, Miami-Dade Policearrested Andrés Laguardia de la Vega, 52, after a raid on his home, where they found three individually caged roosters, numbered and with shaved feathers.

Officers also found a training ring with "rooster shakers" and a small shed containing cockfighting paraphernalia, syringes, steroid medications and shakers.

A woman confirmed that the Cuban owned the roosters and had had them for six years. Laguardia's father, for his part, said that a man paid rent to his son to keep the birds there.

In February 2023, theCounty police discovered a cockfighting ring in a rural area in the extreme northwest of the territory.

There, Elsa Sastureias, 57, identified as a waitress at the property who worked for tips, was arrested and accused of attending an animal fighting event.

A large cockfighting ring containing chairs and an outside viewing platform was found on the property where the woman lived, all inside a makeshift shelter.