FRESNO, Calif. – Jorge Calderon-Campos, 42, a Mexican national living in Bakersfield, is headed to federal prison for over eight years after being convicted of running a significant drug operation and presiding over a gruesome cockfighting ring. U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston handed down the 8-year, 1-month sentence today, bringing a partial close to a sprawling investigation that exposed a network of drug suppliers and animal cruelty in California’s Central Valley.
Court records detail Calderon-Campos’s role as a key supplier of methamphetamine. On March 30, 2021, he allegedly provided 26 pounds of the drug to Mark Garcia, 24, of Lamont, and Alberto Gomez-Santiago, 38, a fellow Mexican national. Less than two weeks later, on April 7, 2021, Calderon-Campos was involved in a larger 60-pound methamphetamine deal with Byron Adilio Alfaro-Sandoval, 47, of Bakersfield; Francisco Javier Torres Mora, aka Johnathan Benjamin Torres, 31, also a Mexican national; and again, Alberto Gomez-Santiago. The operation wasn’t limited to meth; on January 27, 2022, Calderon-Campos acquired over 2 pounds of heroin, brokered through the connections of Jose Angel Beltran-Chaidez, 68, a Mexican national, and his brother, Antonio Beltran-Chaidez, 54.
But the drug trafficking wasn’t the full extent of Calderon-Campos’s criminal enterprise. Between January 16 and April 26, 2022, investigators found he was actively involved in the illegal practice of cockfighting, a barbaric “sport” involving pitting roosters against each other with attached blades. A search of Calderon-Campos’s residence uncovered numerous breeding hens and fighting roosters, along with the tools of the trade: razors, spurs, and six trophies bearing the inscription “Team Amkno” – a shorthand for “Team Americano.”
The investigation extended to a second property occupied by Horacio Ortega-Martinez, 38, a Mexican national, which served as a staging ground for the cockfighting operation and a storage location for drugs and birds. There, authorities seized approximately 250 fighting roosters, roughly 250 “Mexican slashers” (knives used in cockfights), training equipment, and a supply of antibiotics, vitamins, and supplements used to enhance the birds’ fighting abilities. The scale of the operation paints a disturbing picture of organized cruelty and profit-driven violence.
This wasn’t a solo operation. Several co-defendants have already pleaded guilty and received sentences. Alberto Gomez-Santiago received 4 years and 9 months. Francisco Javier Torres Mora also received 4 years and 9 months. Antonio Beltran-Chaidez will spend 3 years and 10 months behind bars, while Horacio Ortega-Martinez received 1.5 years for his role in the animal fighting violation. Jose Beltran-Chaidez is scheduled to be sentenced on December 2, 2024, and Mark Garcia on February 3, 2024. Alfaro-Sandoval remains at large and is scheduled for trial on January 28, 2025. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The case, a product of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), involved a multi-agency effort including Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Secret Service, Bureau of Land Management, Kern County HIDTA Task Force, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Kern County Sherriff’s Office, Kern County Probation Department, and Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case, continuing to unravel the threads of this criminal network.
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Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Press Release
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