HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
HILO VICE SECTION
LIEUTENANT CHAD FUKUI
PHONE: 961-2258
MARCH 9, 1999
F-87978/PN
MEDIA RELEASE
Hilo Vice Section, Criminal Intelligence Unit, Criminal Investigation Section and Puna Patrol officers arrested six men for a variety of offenses as a result of a raid on a cockfight Tuesday evening (March 9, 1999) in the Orchidland Estates subdivision, Puna District.
About 125 persons were attending the cockfight when it was raided on a search warrant at 8:15 p.m.
Arrested were:
- John Flores III, 18, of Orchidland Estates, for nine counts of cruelty to animals, one count of attempted cruelty to animals and 10 counts of gambling.
- Wilfred Clemente, 44, of Orchidland Estates, for one count of attempted cruelty to animals and one count of gambling.
- Jenshin Tamamoto, 60, of Fern Acres, for one count of attempted cruelty to animals and one count of gambling.
- John Gouveia Jr., 24, of Hawaiian Beaches, for one count of attempted cruelty to animals and one count of gambling.
- Christopher Velasco, 43, of Hawaiian Paradise Park, for one count of cruelty to animals and one count of gambling.
- Cedric Pulgados, 35, of Wailea, for one count of cruelty to animals and one count of gambling.
All were released pending further investigation.
In addition to the arrests, $4,854 in cash was seized for forfeiture.
The raid was part of the police department’s active enforcement of laws against cockfighting and illegal gambling on the Big Island.
Tuesday’s cockfight raid was the second in less than a week. On Sunday, Hilo and Kona Vice Section and Criminal Intelligence Unit officers arrested four men as the result of a raid on a cockfight Sunday in Pahala, Ka’u District.
Anyone with information about cockfighting or other illegal gambling activities is asked to call Hilo Vice at 961-2258 or Kona Vice at 326-4240.
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