AND LAW ARRESTS
THEFT
Two East Texas Men Arrested for Theft of Livestock
T Larry Hand TSCRA Special Ranger
WO EAST TEXAS MEN WERE ARRESTED ON NOV. 4 AND NOV. 13, 2015, AND charged WITH felony theft of livestock after stealing 3 cows from a Carthage rancher. This case was jointly investigated by Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers As-
sociation (TSCRA) Special Ranger Larry Hand and Shelby County Sheriff’s Offi ce Investigators D.J. Dickerson and Kevin Windham. According to Hand, the victim realized 3 of his cows were missing on Oct. 30,
2015, from a pasture he leases in Shelby County. The victim called TSCRA Market Inspector Pat McGuigan to share this information. McGuigan contacted Hand who requested that the victim fi le a report with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Offi ce. Hand maintained contact with the victim and TSCRA Market Inspectors Mike
Witcher and McGuigan through the weekend. Since 2 out of the 3 missing cows were branded, Witcher readily remembered inspecting the cattle that had gone through the Nacogdoches Livestock Exchange on Oct. 29, 2015. Hand interviewed Nacogdoches Livestock Auction Exchange employees. It was
revealed that the suspects Christopher Lance Askew, 30, and Derrek Monroe Hughes, 25, gave the employees inconsistent statements, so they documented the sellers in case of future problems. This documentation eventually led to the names of the suspects. Hand gathered evidence and statements in neighboring counties while Dickerson
and Windham worked through information and intelligence locally. These combined efforts led to arrest warrants being issued for Askew on Nov. 4, 2015. After receiving a call from a citizen on Nov. 4, Hand, Dickerson, Windham and
Shelby County Chief Deputy Shad Sparks responded to the scene, where they found Askew passed out behind the wheel of a pickup with the engine running, in the middle of a public road. After initially resisting the arrest, the suspect was arrested for felony theft of livestock, felony driving while intoxicated (DWI), resisting arrest, obstruction of a passageway and 4 counts of felony and misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine, codeine, PCP and marijuana. Authorities identifi ed the trailer used to haul the stolen cows along with the
collection of other evidence. This led to an arrest warrant being issued on Hughes, the second suspect, who was not immediately located. Dickerson placed Hughes on the local crime stoppers list and Hughes turned himself in to deputies on Nov. 13. Hughes was placed in the Shelby County Jail on a $10,000 bond, and Askew was
placed in the Shelby County jail on 8 bonds totaling $165,000. Hand coordinated with the victim to identify and photograph the stolen cattle once their location was obtained. Two of the 3 stolen cows were recovered and returned to the victim. “This case provides a great example of TSCRA special rangers working closely
with TSCRA market inspectors, local investigators and livestock markets to arrest thieves and return stolen cattle to the rightful owners,” said Hand. “Identifi cation of the cows was easier in this case since 2 of the 3 stolen cattle were branded. I can’t stress enough how important it is for ranchers to brand and keep a close watch over their cattle.” TSCRA appreciates the assistance and hard work of authorities of the Shelby
County Sheriff’s Offi ce: Sgt. Dickerson; Investigator Windham; Sgt. Derek Barbee; Deputy Roy Bailey; Chief Deputy Sparks; and employees of the Nacogdoches Live- stock Exchange, especially Lead Clerk Lynnelle McElroy.
MORE 36 The Cattleman February 2016
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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