Four people were indicted by an Abingdon grand jury Thursday for cockfighting and gambling.

Fifty-two-year-old Dale Edward Moreland of Winchester, 49-year-old Luis Aguirre Martinez of Manassas, 65-year-old Albert C. Taylor of Luray and 60-year-old Charles Leo Kingrea of Gordonsville face several charges.

Charges include sponsoring cockfights in which roosters were transported across state lines, illegal possession of knives to be used in a cockfight, operating a gambling enterprise and money laundering. The investigation into this case is still ongoing.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted an undercover operation which ended May 5 during a raid on the Little Boxwood Cockpit in Stanley.

Martinez is charged with owning the cockpit. Moreland is charged with operating the cockpit. Taylor is charged with paying a bribe to a Page County official to avoid law enforcement interference at the cockpit. Kingrea is charged with operating a business at the cockpit that sold cockfighting accessories such as knives.

On May 3, 2007 a law went into effect that increased the federal cockfighting penalty to a felony, which means each of these men could face several years in prison and between $750,000 and $2 million in fines.

Cockfighting is a game of chance in which a knife or other sharp instrument is attached to the legs of roosters and then they are battled. Fights take place in walled pits surrounded by benches for spectators and they are supervised by referees.

Fights end when a rooster either dies or refuses to fight further. And the losing rooster, if not killed in the fight itself, is often killed afterwards.

According to Virginia law, gambling or charging admission at a cockfight is illegal. According to the indictment, an admission fee was charged and bets were taken at the fights at the Little Boxwood Cockpit.

The defendants will stand trial in which the government must prove their guilt.