A paltry sentence and a poultry ban were handed down against a man caught with a yard full of fighting cocks.
The man, Ronald Lee Tresler, 27, entered guilty pleas before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to charges of cock fighting and theft. He was issued an 11-month, 29-day probationary sentence, fined $75 plus court costs and was warned not to own anymore chickens.
He was arrested last summer after Sheriff’s Sgt. Kelly Carter arrived to investigate a tip that illegal cockfighting was going at Tresler’s home. When the deputy arrived, he found evidence of the illegal activity.
“There were between 20 and 30 gamecocks tethered to large plastic barrels,” Carter said, noting he questioned Tresler about what was going on. “He admitted the gamecocks were his and he had been sparring them.”
Carter went on to search the premises and discovered a plastic box that contained multiple cockfighting spurs along with clippers and medical supplies. The deputy also found a Beretta 9mm pistol that had been stolen over a year prior from a neighbor’s home.