Three of the four Minnesota men arrested for transporting fighting chickens and roosters were in court on July 7. Sieng Vang, 24; Ma Vang, 24; and Dang Vang, 23, each pled guilty to the class five felony Animal Fighting.

Sieng Vang and Dang Vang went to immediate sentencing and were each granted two years probation. All four of the men charged in this case are from the St. Paul, Minnesota area.

The judge authorized that the Sieng Vang and Ma Vang's probation supervision could be transferred to Minnesota. A third defendant, Ma Vang pled guilty on July 7 and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 2. Billy Thao, the fourth defendant in this incident, pled not guilty on June 23 and is set for trial in November.

On March 14, 2008 the Colorado State Patrol stopped a vehicle traveling on I-70 at 78 miles per hour. The vehicle was a rented minivan was driven by Dang Vang. The other three men were passengers. According to the arrest affidavit, Dang told troopers that there were headed back to their homes in Minnesota from Fresno, California.

When troopers searched the minivan they found 15 boxes of live chickens and roosters in the back. The veterinarian who came to assess the animals said that the chickens and roosters were bred for cockfighting. Troopers also found a video camera in the truck which contained footage of a cockfight. The men were arrested and booked into the Jeffco jail.

Pam Russell is the public information officer for District Attorney Scott Storey.