Prosecutors charge six for participating in cockfight

WALTERS, Okla. (AP) -- A man who has said authorities can't legally prosecute him has been charged with participating in a cockfight.<br/><br/>The Cotton County District Attorney's office filed

Tuesday, June 15th 2004, 5:43 am

By: News On 6

WALTERS, Okla. (AP) -- A man who has said authorities can't legally prosecute him has been charged with participating in a cockfight.

The Cotton County District Attorney's office filed the charge Monday against Mike C. Turner, 51, of Lawton, and Texans Terry Rolen Hancock, 54; Sergio Dominquez, 23; Jesus Rufino Aviles, 45; Frank Myers, 57; and Melinda Myers, 58.

The six were arrested on Saturday after deputies entered the Hill Top Cultural Center near Randlett with a search warrant, which Assistant District Attorney Mark Clark said he secured after a reserve deputy entered the cockfighting pit in street clothes.

"The reservist went into the facility under the claim he was looking for someone inside," Clark said. "Once inside, he witnessed a cockfight take place. That's when he notified his department. ... We were able to confiscate a number of items as evidence, and video was also taken."

The arrests are thought to be the second ones since late March, when the Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld a 2002 law that made cockfighting a felony. The court last week denied a request by gamefowl breeders for a rehearing.

If convicted, each defendant could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine up to $25,000.

Frank Myers and Turner tried to stage a similar cockfight two months ago at the same center, but Sheriff Paul Jeffrey, 20 deputies and reservists and federal agents were on hand in case arrests needed to be made.

No cockfights were held that day, but Turner, a Kiowa tribal member, used the opportunity to explain why he thought his Kiowa Association for Cultural and Rural Lifestyles organization could promote cockfights at the center.

He said the facility sits on traditional Indian land, and anyone fighting under his group's banner would be protected legally by American Indian sovereignty.

Myers, a part-owner in the pit with Bobby Jones and Hancock, was equally convinced they couldn't be touched by the state law.

Clark said he and other officials met with Turner two months ago and told him he'd be arrested and charged if he held a cockfight.

"I even wrote the Bureau of Indian Affairs about the (Hill Top Cultural Center) land," Clark said.

"I received a letter notifying us that that land is not in Indian trust. It's on the Cotton County tax rolls. So as far as I'm concerned, they don't have a legal leg to stand on."

In April, Oklahoma County prosecutors charged three people with possession of birds with the intent to engage in a cockfight.