Ten men appeared in La Salle County Court Thursday to hear formal charges against them for participating in a cockfighting operation busted up by police authorities Dec. 19 on a rural Earlville farm.

Nine were charged with animals in entertainment, a Class 4 felony, which can be punishable by up to three years in prison. Each man had previously posted 10 percent, or $1,500, of the $15,000 bond set following the weekend arrests.

The 10th man, Rudolfo Villanueva, 4729 E. Sixth Road, was charged with two counts of animals in entertainment. Villanueva — who reportedly owns the property where the illegal rooster fights were organized — currently is out of custody on $25,000 bond.

The others were Jacobo Lopez, 37, Luis Lopez, 39, and Luis P. Perez, 35, all of Milwaukee; Jorge H. Ramirez, 33, Montgomery; Jose M. Reyes, 36, Oswego; Jose Ulloa, 28, and Juan Galvan, 34, all of Joliet; Ramon Magana, 37, Aurora; and Luis Ceja, 41, of Pine Suarez, Guadalajara, Mexico.

In Thursday's hearings, Circuit Court Judge H. Chris Ryan, Jr., brought each defendant to his bench individually to carefully explain the consequences of a felony conviction in Illinois and how punishment might included deportation if a defendant is not a U.S. citizen or is in the country illegally.

The current immigration status of each of the accused has not yet been released, according to county prosecutor Greg Sticka.

Court interpreter Julie Berber translated the proceedings into Spanish for all of the defendants.

According to original reports, the 51-year-old Villanueva also was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a gun without a Firearm Owners Identification card. However, those possible charges were not discussed in the hearings.

Police previously reported they had confiscated six firearms — including an AK-47 and a carbine rifle — in the raid.

The arrests originated through undercover investigations by the Cook County Sheriff's Office Animal Crimes Unit. Monday, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said his office suspects the gamecock fighting ring has been ongoing at the farm at least five years.

Dart's investigators infiltrated the ring months ago and now believe some of the proceeds may have been used to fund illegal gun and drug purchases.

Cockfighting is a centuries-old sport where trained roosters are bred and trained to fight to the death as spectators place wagers. The gamecocks are raised for maximum aggressiveness and often are injected with steroids to increase their viscousness.

La Salle County Sheriff Tom Templeton said Illinois State Police, U.S. Department of Agriculture agents and Cook County special Operations and Gang Units assisted in the animal cruelty investigation.

Templeton said earlier in the week that while some may think that cockfighting is a harmless pastime, accepted in some cultures, "it is a horrific event to to witness."

The Illinois legislature changed cockfighting and other forms of animal fighting criminal charges from a misdemeanor to a felony in 2007.

Dart said agents learned of a fight set for Saturday, where participants paid $1,000 each to enter up to five roosters in the brutal competition. Nearly 50 officers stormed the barn, east of Interstate 39, just before the first fight was to begin.

Spectators to the bloody action paid $50 each to attend and place bets on the fights.

Officials from the Chicago Ridge Animal Welfare League accompanied the police on the raid to evaluate the gamecocks, which — due to their poor conditions and breeding — had to be humanely euthanized following the raid.