NORTHAMPTON — A 59-year-old Holyoke man pleaded guilty Thursday to charges in connection with his involvement in a large-scale cockfighting operation uncovered on a Florence farm in May 2018.
Appearing in Northampton District Court, Miguel Rodriguez pleaded guilty to owning, possessing and training animals for fighting and an animal cruelty charge as part of an investigation by the Northampton Police Department.
Both charges are felonies and Judge Jacklyn Connly, who presided over the plea hearing, sentenced Rodriguez to two years of probation, the first six months of which must be served under home confinement. Rodriguez will be equipped with a GPS monitoring device while he is confined to his home, according to the Northwestern district attorney’s office.
The guilty plea comes nearly three years after city police discovered more than 400 birds living in squalid conditions at Ravenwold Greenhouses at 1095 Florence Road. The birds were suspected of being raised for cockfighting and were discovered during an annual barn inspection by Assistant Animal Control Officer Justine Rule on May 23, 2018. There was no evidence that the owners of Ravenwold Greenhouses were aware of, or involved in, the illegal activity, according to the DA’s office
In August 2020, Northampton Police charged Rodriguez, along with two other co-defendants, Salvador Cruz, 60, of Florence, and John Mercado, 49, of Easthampton, who earlier pleaded not guilty to charges of owning, possessing or training fighting animals and animal cruelty in Northampton District Court. Cruz and Mercado are due back in court Feb. 26 for a pretrial hearing.
“I think it was a fair disposition as far as I’m concerned,” Rodriguez’s defense attorney, Philip Lauro of Springfield, said in a phone interview. “My only issue is I do not believe Miguel Rodriguez was involved as much as other people in this matter and that’s why we resolved it like that, without going to trial. He did not have as serious a role here.”
The commonwealth, represented by Assistant District Attorney Andrew Covington, asked the court to sentence Rodriguez to six months in jail followed by a two-year period of probation while Lauro asked for six months of home confinement along with two years of probation.
“The Commonwealth certainly respects the Court’s decision on sentencing in this matter, and is pleased the case ended with felony convictions, which were clearly warranted,” Covington said in a statement issued Thursday by the DA’s office.
The terms of Rodriguez’s probationary period were agreed upon by the parties and include an order not to possess any animals or animal fighting paraphernalia, paraphernalia of pet ownership, 100 hours of community service, and an order to stay away from Ravenwold Greenhouses, according to the DA’s office.
The disposition of the case was condemned by at least one animal welfare advocacy group on Thursday.
“It’s shameful to see cockfighters in Massachusetts are merely given a slap on the wrist and probation for crimes related to perpetuating this horrific blood-sport that continues to plague the U.S.,” said Marty Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action in Washington, D.C. “Cockfighting remains a high-risk breeding ground for the next COVID-19 type pandemic as gamecocks utilized in this illegal practice are frequently shipped around the globe and carry highly transmissible plagues such as Newcastle Disease and Avian Influenza.”
The group called on the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene and “take serious action against Rodriguez and his cohorts engaged in this criminal activity and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the federal law.”
At the time the cockfighting ring was uncovered, it was described by animal welfare officials as the state’s largest cockfighting bust in recent memory. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought the recovered birds to the MSPCA-Nevins Farm in Methuen in late May 2018. Around 190 birds deemed too aggressive for rehabilitation were euthanized and nearly 200 found new homes at sanctuaries and private homes.
“The Commonwealth would like to thank the animal control officers involved in this case, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), and the Northampton Police Department for their thorough investigation,” Covington said.