"For the first time in memory in South Carolina, a county magistrate judge has sentenced someone to prison on the state misdemeanor charge of just being present at a cockfight," reports John Monk of The State newspaper in Columbia. "Lexington County Magistrate William Shockley of Swansea on Wednesday sentenced Chad Gable, 36, of Orangeburg, to two years in prison for attending two cockfights in the Swansea area in 2008 and 2009."
Each of the two misdemeanor counts carried a maximum one-year prison sentence. The sentence "was just the latest step in a two-year probe of illegal cockfighting operations in South Carolina," Monk reports. State and federal authorities say they are committed to stamping out the "active and widespread cockfighting subculture" in South Carolina. Two undercover videos of the cockfights were shown during the trial, including one showing Gable refereeing a fight.
According to a state Department of Natural Resources spokesman, "If he had pleaded guilty, Gable could have avoided prison and, at most, paid $4,200 or so in fines and court costs on the two charges," Monk writes. "This is a serious crime," spokesman Robert McCullough told Monk. "Along with dog-fighting and other blood sports, it’s just not going to be tolerated anymore. The law is out there, and we are going to enforce it." (Read more)
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