Mark Millican
Dalton Daily Citizen
CHATSWORTH — More than 10 law enforcement agencies built a case for 14 months before taking down a cockfighting operation in southern Murray County on Saturday, authorities said.
An hour before noon several units hit a farmhouse on Berry Bennett Road and arrested 67 people, said Murray County Sheriff Howard Ensley.
“Most of them were charged with gambling and cruelty to animals, but four people were charged with commercial gambling and two others were charged with drugs,” he said. “We also seized over $40,000 in cash.”
Ensley said his officers were assisted by drug units from the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office and Dalton Police Department, along with state Department of Natural Resources game wardens, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents, and K-9 units from the Tunnel Hill and Calhoun police departments. Taking part in the investigation were the Conasauga Safe Streets Task Force, FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Ensley said more than 100 chickens were seized and taken to the county’s animal control facility. A phone call to that agency was not immediately returned on Monday.
Ensley said the investigation, which is ongoing, also turned up five people who were identified as drug traffickers, although they were not in the raid. Some gang members were also identified who were coming to the fights.
Extra jailers and three Magistrate Court judges showed up at the county jail Saturday afternoon and evening to help handle the dozens who were arrested.
“(The suspects) were bused to the jail and were taken straight to their first appearance after they were booked,” said Ensley. “We booked them in and then slowly they got out. It kept going until 5 on Sunday morning, so from the time of the raid it took about 18 hours.”
Most the bails were in the $2,000 range, he said, and on Monday only a couple of those booked in during the day on Saturday and Sunday morning were still in jail on outstanding warrants. No vehicles at the site were confiscated, but all were searched.
