Three arrested for alleged possession of animals used for fighting

Local, state and federal authorities including Bremen Police and the Marshall County Sheriff's Department raided two suspected cockfighting breeders Saturday night in Elkhart and Marshall Counties.

Law enforcement officers from several different agencies served two search warrants simultaneously Saturday night.

Warrants were served at a home in the 21000 block of State Line Road in Bristol and a farm house in the 6200 block of Plymouth-Goshen Trail in Bremen. 

Police say they were suspicious of the two locations after receiving and anonymous tip that gamecocks were being raised for use in cockfighting events.

After several weeks of investigating, three individuals were arrested and over 200 birds were discovered.

48-year-old Victorino Rosales-Alcaraz and 32-year-old Dario Marin-Alvarez were both arrested in Bristol and 40-year-old Juan Cristobal Gonzalez Moran was arrested in Bremen.

Police say all three men will face charges of possession of animals used for fighting which is a level 6 felony and possession of animal fighting paraphernalia with prior convictions, an A misdemeanor offense.

The care of the birds was turned over to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Agencies involved in the raid included the Bremen Police Department, Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office, Marshall County Drug Task Force, Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department, Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office, Indiana State Police, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indiana Gaming Commission, Indiana State Board of Animal Health, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.