The third suspect in an Amarillo cockfighting ring is facing 11 months in prison – and potential deportation.
Salvador Sanchez Chavez, a 49-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, was sentenced on January 23 to 11 months in federal prison for attending an animal fight, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
Chavez was convicted of attending a cockfight in Amarillo on February 10, 2024.
“Cockfighting is not a sport. It is flat out cruel,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould in the release. “This prosecution and the sentences reflect the seriousness of the defendants’ crimes against animals.”
Chavez, along with 45-year-old Ivan Herrera Lopez and 34-year-old Jaime Gamez Resendiz, were indicted in February 2025 for their roles in the cockfighting ring – committing or conspiring to violate the federal Animal Welfare Act.
“All three defendants are Mexican nationals and entered the United States illegally,” the release reads. “As a result of their convictions, each of the defendants is subject to removal from the United States.”
In July 2025, Lopez pled guilty to “conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture,” Resendiz pled guilty to “unlawful use of interstate instrumentality for promoting or furthering an animal fighting venture,” and Chavez pled guilty to “attending an animal fighting venture.”
In October 2025, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk sentenced Lopez and Resendiz to eight months in federal prison, while Lopez was also fined $10,000. Kacsmaryk also recently sentenced Chavez.
“Credit to our law enforcement partners for saving these animals before more harm could be done,” Raybould said.
The Cockfighting Ring
Deputies with the Potter County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at a property in Amarillo on February 20, 2024, according to the release.
“When they arrived, they observed cockfighting, multiple dead roosters, over 160 live fighting roosters, metal blades or talons used to affix to the roosters’ feet for fighting, syringes and medications used to boost the roosters’ adrenaline before a fight, a marker board for documenting bets, and other items indicative of a cockfighting operation,” the release reads.
Lopez reportedly owned the property where he hosted the “cockfighting derby” – also breeding, housing, feeding, or selling roosters for fighting.
That day, Chavez allegedly brought two roosters to the property to fight, along with blades for the match. Investigators found he had traveled to New Mexico for other cockfighting events, and had videos of cockfighting, as well as photos of dead roosters and animal steroids.
Meanwhile, Resendiz reportedly owned a vehicle used to transport roosters to the cockfight on Lopez’s property and to attend the event. Messages on Lopez’s phone allegedly showed discussions with Resendiz about cockfighting dates and locations as far back as 2022.
“Savagely pitting defenseless animals against each other for sport, gambling, or personal enjoyment is cruel and sadistic, and the illicit proceeds are often used to fuel other transnational criminal activity,” said ICE-Homeland Security Investigations Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard in the release.
Texas Game Wardens and members of the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Amarillo collected the roosters and brought them in for care.
“Working alongside our state and local law enforcement partners and the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, we were able to dismantle the criminal organization responsible for operating this illegal gambling operation, hold the criminal illegal aliens who ran it accountable, and rescue the animals from certain death,” Pickard said.
ICE, ICE-HSI Dallas, Texas Game Wardens, Texas Department of Public Safety, Potter County Sheriff’s Office, and Amarillo Police Department led the investigation, according to the release. Meanwhile, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Woolam, Anna Marie Bell, and Joshua Frausto prosecuted the suspects.
A Garland husband and wife recently pled guilty to a conspiracy to smuggle and sell $2.4 million in unbranded pesticides and misbranded veterinary drugs from Mexico, as The Dallas Express reported. The wife reportedly began selling the products online around 2011, targeting customers involved with cockfighting.
In November 2025, deputies with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office busted a cockfighting ring in Alvarado, arresting 25 suspects and rescuing 60 roosters. In July, deputies with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office shut down another cockfighting operation in Athens – seizing 89 roosters, 25 vehicles, two dead birds, and a “significant amount” of money.
