McDOWELL, Ky. (AP) — An eastern Kentucky father and son have pleaded guilty to participating in an enterprise that authorities believe was one of the largest cockfighting pits in the country.
A U.S. Agriculture Department investigator said the business at McDowell in Floyd County had arena-style seating, multiple fighting pits and a restaurant.
Pleading guilty Thursday were 51-year-old Walter Dale Stumbo and 25-year-old Joshua Dale Stumbo. The Lexington Herald-Leader (http://bit.ly/1x8OL5Y ) said they admitted conspiring to sponsor or exhibit an animal in a fighting venture and conducting an illegal gambling business. They also pleaded guilty to involvement in possessing and transporting roosters across the state line from Virginia to the Big Blue club and transporting gaffs, or sharp knives that are attached to roosters’ legs, across state lines.
They are to be sentenced in October.
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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com
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