Cattle thief sentenced to 15 years in prison

Cattle thief sentenced to 15 years in prison Special to the Courier Coleman, Texas - A Rockwood man was arrested and charged with second degree theft of livestock and sentenced to 15 years in prison on Feb. 2 after stealing $3,000 worth of cattle from a rancher located in Coleman, Texas. Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Special Ranger Joe Roberts and Coleman County Sheriff's Deputy Archie Lancaster led the investigation. Roberts received a phone call on March 6, 2014 from a ranch hand who stated that three head of cattle from were stolen from his boss's ranch in Coleman, Texas. The foreman told Roberts that he found four wires cut on the victim's fence and a gate going into the neighbor's property had been moved. The suspect, Don Ernest Estes, 40, of Rockwood, owns the land neighboring the victim's property where the fence and gate had been tampered with. Roberts determined that Estes had stolen the cattle from the victim, whose land shared a fence line. The victim stated that the cattle missing would have weighed about 650 pounds and were either black or red heifers or steers with no brands. Roberts contacted the owner and bookkeeper of the Coleman Livestock Auction and the owner of the auction told Roberts that Estes sold a red 615 pound steer at the auction on Feb. 5. Roberts identified the steer because it had a blue ear tag in the left ear that said "Estes." Later that week, Lancaster and the ranch owners found and confirmed the identity of the other two head of cattle on another piece of land, which was being leased by Estes. The cattle contained fresh brands on them with the letter "E." Estes was arrested and charged with third degree cattle theft; however, the charge was later enhanced by Coleman County District Attorney Heath Hemphill to a second degree felony due to prior convictions. Estes pled guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in the state penitentiary for cattle theft and prior criminal mischief. "It is crucial for ranchers to always brand and keep an accurate count on their cattle," said Roberts. "Taking these precautions serve as the first line of defense against cattle theft. Additionally, it is important for ranchers to report suspicious activity to their local law enforcement as quickly as possible. "In this case, we worked with the victim and local law enforcement to investigate the crime and arrest another cattle thief. We will always work to seek justice for ranchers when necessary."