Cockfighting ring under investigation near Columbus
Police arrested three people in two counties Wednesday in connection to a cockfighting ring.
Investigators said they seized 142 birds from a Brown County home on Grandview Road, about 3 miles northeast of the unincorporated community of Pike’s Peak. A spokesperson for the Indiana Gaming Commission said Mark and Darina Herrin lived there. They were both arrested Wednesday.
“I’ve always heard a lot of rooster crowing and I made a comment it drives me crazy,” neighbor Joyce Bougher said. “But, when you live out in the country, you expect people to have chickens and roosters. So, I don’t think too much about that.”
A second warrant was served in the 100 block of Jonesville Road in Columbus about 9 miles east of the Grandview Road property. Officers also arrested Randall Herrin.
The gaming commission said the investigation spanned about six months. A spokesperson said similar activity was happening in Kentucky and state police are investigating there.
All three suspects were booked into the Brown County Jail.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals helped remove the birds from the Brown County property. Medical experts were examining them.
