Maui man guilty in cockfighting trial

Associated Press

WAILUKU, Maui — A 61-year-old man has been convicted of racketeering, first-degree promotion of gambling and cruelty to animals in the first trial stemming from a yearlong undercover investigation into cockfighting operations on Maui.

William Dutro, of Wailuku, was among 35 people indicted in the investigation conducted in 2002. More than 20 are awaiting trial; others have entered into plea agreements, prosecutors said.

A jury deliberated for two hours Wednesday before reaching its verdict.

"It does send a message to the people involved in this: It's still illegal in Hawai'i," Maui County Deputy Prosecutor J.W. Hupp said.

In his closing arguments in the trial, defense attorney Keith Tanaka said Dutro was only a spectator at the events and was not present at all of the cockfights observed by undercover police officer Bryan Manlapao.

Manlapao attended cockfights between February and June 2002, observing who was participating actively and making bets. He testified that Dutro was observed weighing roosters before their participation in fights at events in Waikapu and Pu'unene.

Hupp said Dutro was the first to go to trial because at the time of the incident he was on parole for a firearms conviction.

Sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 14 before Judge Shackley Raffetto, who presided over the three-day trial.