Romanian Princess Irina pleads not guilty in Oregon cockfighting case and is released until trial

Princess Irina, the third daughter of King Michael of Romania, and her husband John Wesley Walker appeared Friday (August 16) in U.S. court being accused of operating a cockfighting business at their ranch near Irrigon. However, both pleaded guilty and were released pending trial, according to the international media. Princess Irina and her husband were arrested last week in Oregon, U.S., for organizing illegal cockfighting derbies at their ranch. The two suspects organized at least 10 cockfights between April 1, 2012, and May 19, 2013, according to Oregonlive.com Irina and John Wesley Walker, together with several other suspects, were charged in a conspiracy to violate the federal Animal Welfare Act. According to the indictment, the derbies featured dozens of cockfights in a ring, each rooster having knives or other cutting instruments attached to their legs. Soon after the Romanian media announced that Princess Irina was arrested in Oregon, the Royal Family of Romania published a statement on their official website. “His Majesty King Michael I took notice, with deep sorrow, about the events related to Princess Irina of Romania, his daughter. His Majesty and the entire Royal Family hopes that the American justice and Oregon State’s courts will solve this case in the fairest and quickest way possible,” reads the statement. John Walker, 67, was a former Coos County sheriff’s deputy. He married Romanian Princess Irina in 2007, at the Heart of Reno Chapel, Reno, Nevada. Princess Irina of Romania is the third daughter of King Michael and his wife Queen Anne of Romania. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Sxc.hu)