person to get a message to Guthrey via his cell phone. In a matter of minutes, Hurley’s own phone rang. Using his skills as a hostage
negotiator, Special Ranger Hurley began the phone conversation with Guthrey and explained the situation to him. “He denied having a gun,” Hurley said, “but I told him that we believed he did, because of the ammunition we found in his truck, and that law enforcement would do whatever they had to do if he brandished a gun.” Guthrey told Hurley he was con-
cerned about being shot, tasered, or dog bitten, but Hurley assured him that if he came out of the woods to surrender, exactly where and how Hurley instructed, he would be safe. It was dark outside, and Guthrey told Hurley he
could hear helicopters overhead, along with barking dogs, and could see headlights approaching all around him. He’d been in the cold woods for nearly 8 hours. “I was able to establish some trust with Guthrey and he fi nally agreed to surrender,” Hurley says. Hand and Hurley drove alone to a lumber yard near
where Guthrey was holed up. Hurley, staying on the phone with Guthrey the entire time, gave him specifi c instructions. “I told him to keep the phone up to his ear with one hand and his other hand on top of his head the entire time — even after we disconnected the call. We wanted him to keep his hands where we could see them,” Hurley says. Finally, after 8 long hours, Hand and Hurley could
hear Guthrey crashing through the weeds, trying to get out. During a few tense moments, Guthrey emerged from the woods with his hands visible, just as he was ordered, and was handcuffed without further incident.
It’s time to talk After Hurley and Hand arrived at the Panola County
jail with Guthrey, they continued to develop the rapport Hurley had begun with him over the phone. Guthrey wound up agreeing to cooperate and tell them every- thing. Amazingly, Guthrey admitted to Hand and Hurley
that he had committed several thefts over the previous 6 months, reaching far across central and East Texas. Guthrey maintained he had worked alone but the in- vestigators believed, based on Guthrey’s explanations
tscra.org
Both suspects admitted to targeting unbranded cattle, on rural roads, with no homes nearby and with a corral to use for loading.
and their own knowledge of cattle, that this was not the case. A few days later, Special Rangers Hal Dumas and
Marvin Wills were called in, due to information about thefts in their districts given by Guthrey in the initial interview. Dumas and Wills met Hand and Hurley in Marquez, along with Guthrey. From there they drove in a wide loop across several Texas counties, to places where Guthrey said he had stolen cattle. Guthrey explained how he targeted, scouted for
and gathered cattle, removed ear tags and bangs tags, and stole trailers. All the while, this group of special rangers was busy making calls and inquiries to other law enforcement sources to gather more information. The special rangers took Guthrey to a location in
Robertson County where 14 branded heifers had been stolen, but he denied any involvement with that par- ticular theft. “We found out, through our investigation, that Levi
Boyd, a known thief and familiar with Robertson Coun- ty, had moved to Camden, Ark.,” Dumas says. When Hurley questioned Guthrey about Boyd, he hung his head in defeat and admitted to a partnership with Boyd. He explained to investigators that the 2 had schemed to steal cattle in Texas while they were housed in the
June 2015 The Cattleman 85
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