A Harrah man who was facing more than 80 felony charges for operating an illegal cockfighting operation has pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and will serve no jail time.
Justin James McHone, 38 at the time, was arrested and transported to the Lincoln County Jail in Chandler in January of 2020 after law enforcement officers discovered an illegal cockfighting operation in Lincoln County.
District Judge Cindy Ashwood had set his case for the jury trial call docket at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 4. She had scheduled his jury trial for Feb. 7.
According to court records, due to weather conditions the call docket was continued to Feb. 7.
On Feb. 8, McHone appeared before Judge Ashwood with his attorney Billy Coyle and the state was represented by Assistant District Attorney Corey Stone.
The state moved to amend the information to 10 misdemeanors of Spectating a Cockfight and court record states the information was amended by interlineation.
As a result of a plea bargain agreement, McHone entered guilty pleas to the amended charges and the judge found him guilty as charged on all of the misdemeanors.
The other 78 charges against McHone were dismissed.
Judge Ashwood accepted McHone’s guilty plea to the 10 charges. On each count, she sentenced McHone to one year in the Lincoln County Jail with all time suspended, ordered a $100 fine, $35 VCA, and for him to pay court costs.
The judge further ordered that the sentences run concurrent with each other, probation to be unsupervised and for McHone to pay $720 in 991C fees to the District Attorney’s office. She advised him of his right to appeal and told him to report to the Court Clerk’s Cost Administrator.
Tara Kay Gentry, then 42, also of Harrah, was also arrested and charged in connection with the case filed more than two years ago. All charges filed against her were dismissed nearly a year ago.
Court records show that on March 25, 2021 the state dismissed all the charges against Gentry.
The pair was arrested as law enforcement officers from several agencies were executing a search warrant.
On Jan. 22, 2020, formal charges were filed in Lincoln County District Court in Chandler.
Each was charged with instigating/encouraging cockfight; keeping place/ equipment/facility for cockfighting; and own/ possess/keep/ train bird for fighting.
On March 4, 2020 an amended information was filed and they each faced an additional 85 charges of own/possess/keep/ train bird for fighting.
That increased the total 88 to felony charges each faced.
In March of 2021, McHone waived his preliminary hearing, court records show.
On May 11, 2021, during his arraignment before Judge Ashwood, McHone pleaded not guilty.
During the search of the property for stolen items, deputies along with investigators noticed approximately 60 Game fowl most commonly known as “Fighting Cocks.”
The Game fowl were in a fenced area with individual housing and were tethered to the housing, officers reported. Continuing their search of the property, investigators found an arena in a barn that had indications of what appeared to be dried blood on the walls.
On further searching the area, investigators found animal medication and cockfighting spurs with blood on the leather straps.