Durant, Okla. – An Oklahoma woman was today convicted by a Bryan County jury for knowingly concealing stolen property (cattle). This investigation was led by Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Special Ranger Bart Perrier.
The Langford Hereford Ranch, located in Okmulgee, Okla. had reported some of their registered purebred cattle as stolen in October 2013.
According to Perrier, the defendant, Christen Leeann Allen, 31, from Haskell, Okla. had sold ten head of registered purebred cattle at the Durant Stockyards on Oct. 10, 2013 that matched the description of the stolen cattle. During the investigation some of the livestock sold by Allen were located, and they were positively identified through brands and registered tattoo numbers as the stolen cattle reported in this case.
Allen was charged based on her inconsistent statements about the origin and ownership of the cattle when they were sold at the sale barn and her activities leading up to and after the sale of the cattle.
Allen was found guilty of the charge and sentenced to two years in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and accessed the maximum fine of $500. Restitution will be determined by the judge at a hearing to be held in the near future. Allen was booked into the Bryan County Jail after the verdict from the jury trial.
“This case highlights the positive outcomes that are possible when cattle are properly marked, branded or tattooed for identification purposes by the owners,” said Perrier.
TSCRA would like to thank Bryan County District Attorneys Matt Stubblefield and Whitney Kerr, and Special Rangers John Cummings and Ben Eggleston for their assistance during this joint investigation.
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TSCRA has 30 special rangers stationed strategically throughout Texas and Oklahoma who have in-depth knowledge of the cattle industry and are trained in all facets of law enforcement. All are commissioned as Special Rangers by the Texas Department of Public Safety and/or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
TSCRA is a 137-year-old trade association and is the largest and oldest livestock organization based in Texas. TSCRA has more than 16,000 beef cattle operations, ranching families and businesses as members. These members represent approximately 50,000 individuals directly involved in ranching and beef production who manage 4 million head of cattle on 76 million acres of range and pasture land primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, but throughout the Southwest.