A Turtle Lake man, Agustin Benitez, was sentenced in Polk County Circuit Court on November 28, 2016 for Instigation of Animal Fights – Training, a Class I Felony. He is the third defendant charged, convicted, and sentenced after the 2015 discovery of a cockfighting operation in Polk County.
The charges against Benitez stemmed from an investigation which originated in St. Croix County and then progressed to include three properties in Polk County.
According to documents received by DrydenWire.com via public records request, the St. Croix Sheriff's Office was investigating suspicions of cockfighting and/or the breeding of gamefowl for the purpose of cockfighting in January of 2015. Officers arrived at a St. Croix address, and discovered a cockfighting event in progress inside a wooden building. Eighteen people were arrested for spectating or participating in a cockfight including Agustin Benitez who received criminal charges for Instigation of Animal Fights in St. Croix County Circuit Court along with two other co-defendants who also received criminal charges in St. Croix County for Instigation of Animal Fights: Idelio Benitez and Ernesto Benitez.
Information gained as a result of St. Croix's investigation was forwarded to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. This led to an investigation into three Polk County properties for continuing signs of gamefowl activity. Aerial surveillance revealed dozens of pens designed to contain chickens at each of the three properties. Over the next few months, investigators continued to monitor the activity at each of the properties. A midwest representative of the Field Investigations and Response Team for American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) assisted law enforcement with their investigation. He advised Polk County Investigators that the housing for the fowl on these properties was designed for raising roosters; breeding, training, and conditioning them to fight each other. The housing was designed with single coops for the roosters – to prevent them from fighting each other at will.
By the end of May, 2015, roosters were heard crowing on at least one of the properties. Search warrants were obtained by law enforcement and executed on June 2nd, 2015 at each address. Officers located approximately 340 gamefowl between the three properties, with well over 200 of those birds being roosters. The roosters were housed separately, and the majority of them had been surgically altered for cockfighting purposes with their wattles, combs, and earlobes removed and their spurs either sharpened or dubbed to allow small weapons to be attached for fights.
At the residence of Ernesto Benitez, officers also found a building with a room located inside which contained around 15 separate pens. Each of the pens had large amounts of blood on the walls, ceiling and floor. Inside one pen, was a severely injured rooster, covered in blood. A veterinarian on scene confirmed that this rooster as well as at least two others had recent injuries which were all consistent with cockfighting.
On June 3rd, 2015, charges were filed in Polk County Circuit Court against Agustin Benitez due to the results of those June 2nd search warrants. Agustin received ten counts of Class I felony instigation of animal fights or training animals for fighting along with ten counts of misdemeanor bail jumping. The Court accepted his guilty plea on November 28th, 2016, to four of the felony charges of instigation of animal fights and one charge of misdemeanor bail jumping. The remaining charges were dismissed but read in by the Court for sentencing purposes. He received a withheld sentence, 3 years of probation, answerable to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Ernesto Benitez was also charged in Polk County Circuit Court with ten counts of Class I felony instigation of animal fights and ten counts of misdemeanor bail jumping stemming from the June 2nd search warrants. On October 24th, 2016 Ernesto Benitez plead guilty to four reduced counts of Class A misdemeanor instigation of animal fights and one count of misdemeanor bail jumping with the remainder of his charges being dismissed but read in by the Court for sentencing. He also received a withheld sentence, 3 years of probation, answerable to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Criminal charges were also filed in Polk County Circuit Court against Idelio Benitez based on those June 2nd search warrants. Idelio was charged with ten counts of Class I felony instigation of animal fights and ten counts of misdemeanor bail jumping and he plead guilty on April 19th, 2016, to two reduced counts of Class A misdemeanor instigation of animal fights and one count of misdemeanor bail jumping; the remainder of his charges were dismissed but read in by the Court for sentencing. The Court gave him a sentence of 18 months of probation.
In July of 2015, all three men plead guilty to reduced charges of non criminal disorderly conduct in their St. Croix County cases.
Public record shows that two related cases were filed in civil court, to address the concern of disposition of the gamefowl taken into custody by the County when this cockfighting ring was discovered. Agustin was also ordered by the Court that he is not to possess any type of animal with wings. The court ordered Ernesto that he may not possess any roosters, only hens.
Ernesto Benitez
Idelio Benitez
[Photos: Polk County Sheriff's Office]
Last Update: Dec 01, 2016 7:50 am CST
