Grand jury indicts 15 for cock fighting

Fifteen people have been indicted by the Gonzales County grand jury on charges of cruelty to animals, stemming from the Jan. 8 arrests in northern Gonzales County in a sting operation at an active cock-fighting facility.

Gonzales County Sheriff Glen Sachtleben led the combined task force consisting of the sheriff’s office, the 25th Judicial District Attorney’s office, the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office and Precinct 3 Constable Raleigh Measom in the raid at 3440 Highway 90 near Waelder. Authorities served warrants alleging organized crime, cruelty to animals and gambling.

The raid culminated several months of investigation and information gathering conducted by Sachtleben, Chief Deputy Dennis Richter, Lt. Investigator Jeromy Belin and Sgt. Investigator Matt Atkinson.

The grand jury, which was convened in 25th Judicial District Court on Dec. 1 and handed down the indictments, found 29 cases sufficient to warrant trial proceedings. Twenty-four of the indictments were immediately available, with an additional five persons awaiting custody or bond at the time of the presentment of indictment.

Those indicted for cruelty to animals included Victor Alaniz of Waelder, Christopher Allred of Centerville, Martin Bernal of Aubry, James Evans of Pinehurst, Baltasar Garza of Stafford, Jose Garza of San Antonio, Margarita Goehring of Wallis, Antonio Luna of El Campo, Maria Medina of Needville, Noel Medina of Needville, Darrell Pape of Waelder, Daylon Pape of Luling, Stanley Whittington of Santa Fe, Michael Williams of Harwood and Dennis Wilson of Centerville.

Others indicted by the grand jury included Doris Beauregard, Henry Fonseca Jr. and Luis Medel, each for aggravated assault; LaJuane Clark for assault against a public servant; Henry Johnson for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; Monseis Mendiola for assault with bodily injury, family violence enhanced; Francisco Hernandez for evading arrest with a vehicle; Katy Hunt for forgery; and Cierra Jones for two counts of credit card abuse, fraudulent possession of identifying information.