Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- Investigators with the Attorney General's Office announced the arrest of 36 people for their involvement with cockfighting rings in Swansea in Lexington County and Oceida in Williamsburg County.
According to investigators, undercover officers with the Department of Natural Resources attended cockfighting events in those locations during a period of 13 months.
"Cockfighting is a crime that leaves an ugly scar on our community," said Attorney General Henry McMaster. "The criminal underworld surrounding it is a haven for drugs, violence, and gambling."
The maximum penalty for the first offense of cockfighting is one year imprisonment or a $1,000 fine, due to the fact that cockfighting in South Carolina is only a misdemeanor violation.
According to a Friday news release from the Attorney General, McMaster led an effort in 2005 to increase the state's maximum penalty for cockfighting from 30 days behind bars to a full year. Any offense after the first carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, McMaster said.
11/20/2009 4:55:01 PM
