A Kona grand jury indicted a 61-year-old Ka‘u man with several crimes associated with a cockfight that allegedly occurred a year-and-a-half ago in a Pahala macadamia nut orchard.
The four-count indictment charges Florentino Orcino with second-degree animal cruelty, first-degree promotion of gambling, first-degree possession of gambling records and carrying a firearm.
A bench warrant issued with the indictment set bail at $8,000. According to court records, special bail conditions include that Orcino not have either firearms or chickens, that he surrender any chickens he has to police, and that he stay out of macadamia nut orchards in or around Pahala.
According to the indictment, the offenses occurred April 14, 2013. A police spokeswoman said Wednesday the alleged incident occurred between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and that vice officers served a search warrant and seized 15 dead or injured chickens, a .22-caliber pistol, gambling records, cockfighting paraphernalia and $6,790 in cash.
The animal cruelty charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Both gambling-related charges are Class C felonies punishable by up to five years in prison and the firearms charge is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
This is at least the second time Orcino has had a scrape with the law because of a cockfight.
A police press release dated March 7, 1999, states he and three others were arrested on that date after police raided a Pahala cockfight attended by about 175 people.
According to court records, Orcino was convicted of misdemeanor gambling and animal cruelty charges and sentenced Sept. 13, 2000, to a $500 fine and a year probation.
Inga Gibson, state director of the Humane Society of the United States, said her organization considers cockfighting a serious crime.
“Right now, it is just a misdemeanor,” she said. “We have one of the weakest cockfighting laws in the nation; I think we’re ranked 48th. Even though it is just a misdemeanor, we would urge prosecution to the fullest extent of the law, especially since this involves multiple animals.”
Gibson said cockfighting remains prevalent locally and prosecution rare “in part because of our weak laws.”
“The laws require that the perpetrators be caught in the actual act of cockfighting,” she said. “All of the other peripheral activities, whether it’s breeding or buying or selling or training — or even attending a cockfight, are not expressly illegal. It’s difficult for law enforcement. If they don’t catch the perpetrators in the actual act of cockfighting, they’re forced to either look for other violations of law, and sometimes all they can do is disperse the fight. The people run off, the cops leave, only for the (participants) to come back a couple of hours later.
“We see no difference between this and dog fighting. These animals are forced to fight to the death in the name of illegal gambling and profits. And that’s what we have to depend on here in Hawaii, because the cockfighting law itself, the animal cruelty law is so weak, being only a misdemeanor. It’s only when we’re able to prosecute for these other peripheral crimes, gambling, firearms, drugs, etc., can we get the stiffer sentences for the felonies.”
Gibson noted the stronger laws against dog fighting passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie in 2011.
“It’s a felony even to attend a dogfight,” she said. “We know they still occur here, but they’re much more underground because the penalties are higher, and that, I think, just shows why we need stronger penalties for cockfighting. It’s a blood sport. It’s not justified by any cultural means. It’s all about illegal gambling and money.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.