A South Florida man with a history of cockfighting arrests is facing charges after authorities said they uncovered a cockfighting operation at the southwest Miami-Dade property he owns.
Leonardo Cabrera, 62, was arrested Monday on charges including possessing animals to fight, animal cruelty with intent to injure and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, arrest reports said.
Miami-Dade CorrectionsMiami-Dade Corrections
Leonardo Cabrera
The arrest was made after the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a property in the 24400 block of Southwest 123rd Avenue that was identified as a possible cockfighting location, the reports said.
Cabrera was taken into custody at the property and was identified as the owner, authorities said.
He had previously been arrested and convicted for animal cruelty and owning an animal for fighting in a separate case after the FBI raided the same property back in December 2022, arrest reports and records showed.
Cabrera was arrested and charged with attending an animal fight in yet another separate case, the reports said.
Investigators who arrived at the property on Monday heard roosters crowing in a fenced-in area, and several individual cages were found containing game fowl roosters, which are male chickens bred and trained specifically for fighting, the reports said.
Investigators also found an enclosed cockfighting training ring inside a structure with rooster paraphernalia including vitamins, syringes and medication, the reports said.
A dead rooster was also found inside a cage, and investigators found a rooster agitator.
In addition, 10 dogs were individually caged with urine and feces in the entire base of the cage with no accessible food, the reports said.
A further search of the property turned up a shotgun and ammunition, but the report noted that Cabrera is a three-time convicted felon and not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition.
Cabrera was arrested and booked into jail.
Records showed Cabrera was convicted in the previous animal cruelty case in 2024, and served two days in jail after receiving credit for time served, along with having to pay $603 for court costs and fines.