Sun Valley : Tip Leads to Arrest Over Fighting Cocks

Acting on a tip and following a few months of surveillance, vice officers from the North Hollywood Division searched a Sun Valley home in the 10400 block of Cantara Street and found 31 roosters believed to have been used for cockfighting, police said.

At about 7 p.m. Wednesday, officers searched the home of 54-year-old Clemente Covarrubias and found the caged roosters in the backyard, according to Det. Carl Frank. The roosters appeared to have been groomed for fighting but were in good condition except for a few wounds, Frank said.

“There were scars on their heads that hadn’t healed,” Frank said, but “they all looked very healthy.”

Covarrubias was arrested and held on suspicion of possessing the roosters and using them for fighting purposes. The roosters were seized by animal control officials.

Officers said they also found scales used to weigh the roosters to ensure they fight an opponent of equal size.

Officers had been monitoring the Sun Valley home sporadically for the last few months, Frank said.

Frank said Covarrubias was “very cooperative” with officers. “We just want to make people know this type of thing is not tolerated,” Frank said.