Juan Carlos Gonzalez and his wife Leticia are home but they're not ready to defend themselves on camera. They are looking for an attorney. The couple is accused of running a cockfighting distribution operation out of their home in Goshen.
A neighbor who didn't want to be identified said, "From the time I've known him, he's a good person...a good guy."
The Humane Society says the evidence is stacked and shot video while raiding the couple's home. Authorities found 388 birds and a thousand cockfighting knives. The video shows investigators finding knives in Pringles cans. Investigators believe Gonzalez is a distributor for a Mexican company that makes the knives.
Allison Lambert with the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency said, "They utilize normal objects to actually hide the implements and hide those tools as they're completely illegal to bring into the United States."
Most of the birds were euthanized. A few of them were taken to a county shelter and will be used as evidence.
"Many of the animals had wounds, open wounds...they hadn't been cared for," Lambert said.
Off camera, Gonzalez said the birds were healthy, most of them were chicks and he was considering giving them all away.
Investigators say video found in the home could lead to more arrests.
Juan Carlos Gonzalez and his wife are expected to be in court on Thursday.
TXT 24
Twitter
Facebook