Dozens arrested in raid on cockfighting ring in Granville County

CREEDMOOR, NC – Granville County Sheriff’s officers broke up a cockfight on property near Lawrence Road Saturday afternoon.

After days of tips, an undercover agent gained access to the brawl and recorded a video to obtain a search warrant.

In a forest area, officers found an arena prepared for fighting and dozens of people. Some of them ran into the forest while officers arrested others.

Neighbors told WRAL News they were concerned because it was so close and they didn’t know about it.

“People said there might be some strange things going on there, so you never know what it might be out here,” said Charles Reaves said.

In addition to the cockfights, officers found buckets of dead chickens, as well as weapons, alcohol and drugs. They also removed about 50 vehicles from the property.

“A few days ago we received initial information from confidential sources that there may be a cockfighting ring in the southern part of Granville County,” said Sheriff Robert Fountain.

He said the organizers charged $50 for admission.

“We went onto the property and that’s when everyone realized what was going on. We started chasing people. They started running, abandoned their vehicles, left the property and left all the birds there,” said Sheriff Robert Fountain.

When the raid took place, people from several states were present and had placed bets on various fights.

Fountain said people would tape razor blades to the birds’ legs and make them fight each other. Sometimes they would also inject them with adrenaline and only send them back into the fight when they were close to death.

Nearly 200 roosters were removed from the property. The animals were cared for at the Granville County Animal Shelter.

“We’ve never seen anything on this scale. To see razor blades glued to the birds’ legs and let them fight each other was really inhumane,” Fountain said.

The investigation is ongoing and officers continue to search the property.

The sheriff’s office was out all night with drones, collecting thermal images over the forest to catch anyone who might still be hiding in the woods.

Authorities are investigating how long the incidents have been taking place in Granville County, who organized them, how the perpetrators gained access to the property and more, Fountain said.

“We’re just doing our homework. We’re continuing to review all the information we can get.”

Reaves, who lives nearby, has further questions.

“Who of them do I know? That’s definitely a question I’m asking myself,” he said. “To what extent did they do this and how long did it last?”