Carlos Hernandez Pinero, 40; Reinaldo Prieto, 74; Frank Ulloa Quinones, 23; and Jorge Invierno, 43, were each charged with animal fighting, a felony.
Arrest reports say Pinero, Prieto and Invierno were passengers in a white Ford 250 pickup driven by Quinones that nearly struck two CCSO deputies who were conducting a traffic stop on another vehicle on U.S. 41 East about a mile east of Bass Road around 1:40 a.m.
The pickup pulled over and deputies placed Quinones under arrest on a charge of reckless driving.
A search of the pickup turned up three roosters inside a multicolored carrying case which had a cartoon drawing of a muscular rooster and was labeled “strong rooster” in Spanish, reports said.
Deputies also found two roosters in separate sacks hanging from the back seat, reports said.
Reports said the birds had been groomed for fighting. Their breast plumage had been all but removed and their combs had been cropped off. The birds also had a strong odor of rubbing alcohol on their skin which was bright red.
Four bottles of rubbing alcohol were also found inside the pickup, reports said.
Animal control officers took custody of the birds, which were uninjured and appeared to be in good health, reports said.
Prieto, Reinaldo
Hernandez Pinero, Carlos
Invierno, Jorge
Quinones, Frank Ulloa
