Plumstead couple faces more than 100 charges for operating cockfighting ring

Update: Mara Guadalupe Duran turned herself into authorities on March 7 and was arraigned on charges including animal fighting and cruelty to animals. She was released on $100,000 unsecured bail.

A Plumstead couple is facing more than 100 felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly operating a large-scale cockfighting ring that police raided last month and removed nearly 50 birds.

Manfid Duran, 49, was arraigned early Monday for animal fighting and related charges including possession of animal fighting paraphernalia and more than 50 summary counts of animal neglect. He was sent to Bucks County Correctional Center in lieu of 10% of $750,000 bail.

An arrest warrant also has been issued for Duran’s 50-year-old wife, Mara Guadalupe Duran, but she remains at large as of March 4.

The couple rented a nearly 4–acre property in the 1000 block of North Easton Road for several years, where police allege they interrupted an alleged cockfight on Feb. 18 after receiving a complaint.

Bucks County 911 records show that police visited the property a dozen times last year with most calls listed as an officer check. The property owner has started eviction proceedings against the couple and has filed a $10,600 claim against them, according to a petition filed in district court.

When police arrived at the property last month they found numerous vehicles and Valentine’s Day balloons tied to the mailbox, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Police officers saw Mara Duran walking away from a two-car detached garage on the property, and they stopped and asked her what was happening, accordng to court documents.

She responded that they were having a party, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

One of the officers heard what sounded like numerous roosters and noticed cages lining the back and side walls outside the garage. He then saw three men, who claimed they didn’t speak English, leave through a back door.

When the officer looked inside the building he saw a large dirt-filled pit surrounded by three-foot high plywood walls. Inside the ring, two roosters were fighting and at least 20 men were surrounding the pit, the affidavit said.

In the corner of the garage, the officer noticed at least one dead rooster.

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As the officer asked the men inside to show him their hands and produce identification, someone opened the front garage door and the men ran in different directions toward North Easton and Silo Hill roads, the affidavit said.

Police apprehended one of them, a 21-year-old man, Cesar Cordova-Morales, of Chester County. He faces felony and misdemeanor charges for animal fighting and possession of animal fighting paraphernalia.  Cordova-Morales is awaiting a preliminary hearing and remains free after posting 10% of his $100,000 bail.

When Bucks County SPCA Chief Humane Officer Nikki Thompson arrived at the scene with a search warrant she found walls lined with cages and pet carriers for fowl in the garage as well as an attached storage area and apartment.

All food cups in the cages and carriers were empty and the only water the birds had access to was frozen. The bodies of dead roosters were found behind the garage, according to court documents.

Inside the garage Thompson found a notebook with two pages of various names with what appeared to be numbers or scores with those names. She also found other items including a scale, zip ties, bolt cutters and an empty bottle of vitamins used in cockfighting,the affidavit said.

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Near the front of the garage door was a table containing human food items, as well as more cages and cardboard carriers with roosters inside.

More plywood boxes containing roosters were located in the apartment, as well as other cockfighting paraphernalia such as leather cuffs, multiple knife-spurs that are attached to the rooster’s legs, surgical sheets, animal drugs,

Inside the fighting ring were multiple feathers and footprints that appeared to belong to a rooster. Areas of the plywood walls had dark red stains that appeared to be blood.  The feathers covered the floor in other areas in the garage as well as suspected blood stains.

Authorities found a black rooster that appeared to be in great distress laying in a corner of the garage.  He was bloody and having a hard time up-righting himself from a seated position, the affidavit said.  Police believe the bird was involved in a fight that day.

The injured bird was taken to an emergency veterinarian who found he had multiple deep lacerations and his head and body and deep muscle bruising.  The rooster died of the injuries three days later. Two other injured roosters removed were also treated and they are recovering.

The SPCA removed 49 roosters, hens and young chickens from the property. The birds will  remain in the animal welfare agency’s custody until the criminal case is completed.

Cockfighting is considered a felony offense in all 50 states and the U.S. territories.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: New arrests, details in alleged cockfighting ring operating in Plumstead