UPDATED: Third person arrested in animal cruelty cases

Staff Report
A nearly year-long St. Mary Sheriff’s Office investigation into drug trafficking and animal cruelty has resulted in three arrests on charges that include cruelty and cockfighting, Sheriff Blaise Smith said.
The third arrest, on Wednesday afternoon, resulted in the booking of Jesus Fernandez, 61, of Morgan City. He was named in a warrant alleging 147 counts of cockfighting and 151 counts of animal cruelty.
Smith said Fernadez has been under investigation for possible drug sales and cockfighting since September.
On Saturday, a detective with the St. Mary Parish Narcotics Section conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle and made contact with the driver, Fernandez. During the stop, a K-9 deputy deployed K-9 Doerak to conduct an open-air sniff of the area around the vehicle.
K-9 Doerak showed a positive odor response and subsequently, drugs, drug paraphernalia and cash were located.
During the investigation, detectives also found caged chickens that appeared to have been used in cockfighting.
Fernandez was arrested and transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking on charges of improper lane usage, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and transactions involving drug proceeds.
He was later released on a $31,750 bond.
As the investigation progressed, a search warrant was executed Tuesday at a residence in Amelia with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Toney Wade with the Cruelty Investigation Task Force.
Chickens, sheep and other animals were found to be in poor condition and were without proper food and water. Dead chickens were also found on the property.
A total of 166 chickens and 16 sheep and goats were seized.
Artemio Rodriguez, 43, Amelia, and Maria Ortiz, 44, Amelia, were arrested Tuesday afternoon on warrants alleging animal cruelty.
Rodriguez and Ortiz were released on a summons to appear Nov. 2.
“Animal cruelty will not be tolerated in St. Mary Parish, “ Smith said.
“My message is simple: If you know something, say something. Contact us with any information you have concerning this.”