Police arrested 42 people Sunday after receiving an anonymous tip about a cock fight at 37 Bud Bond Rd.
At about 3 p.m. a caller told officials at the Stone County Sheriff Department about the cock fight and deputies Adam Guidry and Fred Carter responded, discovering the fight in progress.
“They called Chief Deputy Phyllis Olds and she responded along with Lt. Eddie Rogers and game wardens with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks,” Sheriff Mike Farmer said. “They arrested 42 individuals for participating in an illegal cock fight.”
All 42 had been released as of Monday afternoon and face a misdemeanor charge.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, Mississippi has the second weakest cockfighting law in the nation, with penalties of no more than a $100 fine and no more than 100 days imprisonment.
In the 2009 legislative session, Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, introduced legislation to make cockfighting a felony, already the law in 37 other states.
The bill died when it failed to come up for a vote before the legislature adjourned.
Police found 21 dead cocks at Sunday’s bust and another dozen were confiscated and were being held at the Stone County Regional Correctional Facility.
Police also confiscated a large number of spurs, used to strap to fighting cocks legs, along with other paraphernalia associated with the activity.
Farmer said he appreciates the citizen who called in the tip and encouraged others to do the same.
“If you think there is illegal activity going on in your neighborhood, call our office and it will be looked into,” he said.
Individuals arrested include:
Ferrell Poole: age 40, white male, cockfighting
Shane Cuevas: age 37, cockfighting
Amy Peterson: age 22, white female, cockfighting
Robert Anglini: age 41, white male, cockfighting
Timothy Alan Peterson: age 26, white male, cockfighting
Michael Bond: age 32, white male, cockfighting
Gerald Ladner: age 34, white male, cockfighting
James Moree: age 24, white male, cockfighting
Tara Barnhill: age 19, white female, cockfighting
Kenneth Barnhill Jr. white male, age 24, cockfighting
Brennon Hoda: age 38, white male, cockfighting
Bryan Foucha: age 23, white male, cockfighting
Robby J. Parker: age 46, white male, cockfighting
Kevin Schoniwitz: age 35, white male, cockfighting
Bernard Schwab: age 72, white male, cockfighting
Billy Jones: age 71, white male, cockfighting
Randy Deaton: age 43, white male, cockfighting
Victor S. Fricke: age 36, white male, cockfighting
Richard Holland: age 58, white male, cockfighting
John M. Anderson: age 41, white male, cockfighting
Casey Burgg: age 23, white male, cockfighting
Gary Keith Moree: age 50, white male, cockfighting
Newitt Bond: age 40, white male, cockfighting
Royce Brown: age 38, white male, cockfighting
William Hall: age 42, white male, cockfighting
Flora Bond: age 28, white female, cockfighting
Tammy Hall: age 38, white female, cockfighting
Melissa Diane Michaels: age 42, white female, cockfighting
Bill Bond: age 52, white male, cockfighting
Kevin Dwight Boudreaux: age 19, white male, cockfighting
Phillip Daniel Hall: age 45, white male, cockfighting
Jeffery Alan Dupree: age 53, white male, cockfighting
George Wainwright: age 57, white male, cockfighting
Stevie Ward: cockfighting
Charles Derek Daughtry: age 29, white male, cockfighting
Robert Ladner: age 23, white male, cockfighting
Dana Lyn Hoda: age 35, white female, cockfighting
Larry Wayne Schoniwitz: age 49, white male, cockfighting
Joseph Killingsworth: age 33, white male, cockfighting
Carol Carlos: age 35, white male, cockfighting
Edward Reeves: age 45, white male, cockfighting
