Sulphur Bluff man arrested in cattle theft case

A Sulphur Bluff man has been arrested in Hopkins County and charged with theft of livestock after failing to return 125-160 head of cattle he was grazing on his pasture and did not own.
TSCRA Special Ranger Toney Hurley and Hopkins County investigators jointly conducted this investigation.
According to Hurley, the suspect, Lindy Wayne Shipley, 48, was providing grazing land in northeast Texas for 250 head of cattle at $20 per head, per month, to a West Texas rancher. When the owner of the cattle sent trucks to the grazing land between Sulphur Bluff and Saltillo, Shipley was more than 100 head of cattle short of the original count. Hurley said authorities are unsure where the missing cattle are and the investigation is ongoing.
Shipley was arrested by Hurley on Aug. 30 at the Hopkins County Jail for theft of livestock over $150,000 and less than $300,000. His bond was set at $250,000 on the felony charge.
“It is common for ranchers in West Texas to send cattle to northeast Texas for grazing due to lack of rain and grass,” said Hurley. “In this case, the suspect was not able to produce the entire total amount of cattle he was being paid to graze and oversee on his pasture. Additionally, the suspect didn’t have a good explanation of the location of the missing cattle. Thanks to the help of Hopkins County investigators, we were able to arrest another cattle thief.”
TSCRA would like to thank the Hopkins County investigators for their work throughout this investigation.