A Titus County Sheriff's Office patrol vehicle is pictured at the scene of a cockfighting investigation in Titus County Friday. Authorities arrested Timothy C. Thompson on charges of cockfighting and animal cruelty. (Contributed photo)

A Titus County man dubbed the “cockfighting kingpin” by animal welfare organizations has been arrested, Titus County authorities said.

Timothy C. Thompson, 52, was arrested Friday on one count of cockfighting and four counts of cruelty to a livestock animal, officials with the Titus County Sheriff’s Office announced.

Titus County deputies received a report that a cockfighting event was taking place July 4 in the 900 block of CR 3925. Deputies executed search and arrest warrants at the property and arrested Thompson without incident.

Thompson’s arrest comes almost four months after animal welfare advocacy organizations captured footage of a large cockfighting event they claim Thompson organized. Animal Wellness Action and SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness) members captured drone footage of the event and said roughly 200 people were participating. No arrests were made at the time, and leaders of the organization said they were disappointed with law enforcement.

In a March news release, Wayne Pacell, president of the Animal Wellness Action organization, and leaders of the Center for Humane Economy, said Thompson was a “cockfighting kingpin.”

Pacell told the News-Journal on Saturday that Southeastern Oklahoma and Northeast Texas are the most significant corridors for illegal cockfighting in the nation, and he said he believes Thompson operates one of the larger cockfighting outfits in the region.

Informants with the animal welfare organizations go undercover at cockfighting events to capture footage of them and provide that information to authorities. They tipped off Titus County authorities about Friday’s event, Pacell said.

“We’re very pleased that they took action and arrested Tim Thompson for the widely criminalized practice of cockfighting,” he said. “We obviously want to see how this plays out in terms of the justice system. We want a conviction. We’d like to have felony charges. We want to see a serious penalty as a deterrent for others who might engage in this, and we want to see action against the larger set of people who participated in this event.”

Thompson’s charges are all state jail felonies, and officials are investigating whether other suspects can be charged in connection with the incident, officials said.

Thompson remained Saturday in the Titus County Jail awaiting arraignment.