Marlin, Texas – A Marlin, Texas man was arrested Friday, March 6 and charged with third degree theft of property after stealing $34,000 worth of ranching equipment and other items from a Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association member located in Marlin, Texas.  

Falls County Chief Deputy Kenneth Vanek, Falls County Sgt. Derrick Johnson, Falls County District Attorney Investigator Rick Scamen and TSCRA Special Ranger Marvin Wills worked together on this investigation.  

Wills said he was contacted by the victim to inform him that his office, located in Falls County, had been broken into. The victim stated that saddles, tack, spurs, a trophy buckle, a gun, leather working tools and numerous other products were stolen. The worth of the stolen items totaled approximately $34,000.  

On Friday, March 6, Johnson received a phone call about a suspicious vehicle. When Johnson arrived to observe the vehicle, he recognized the suspect Aaron Christopher Keener, 19, of Marlin, Texas was an employee of the victim whose office was broken into. With the consent of Keener, Johnson searched the vehicle and located several items in the vehicle matching the description of the items stolen from the victim who had experienced the break-in earlier that day. Keener was arrested by Johnson and taken to the Falls County Jail.  

$27,000 out of the approximately $34,000 worth of stolen property has been recovered. The stolen  items were sold or traded for pennies on the dollar.  

This case is still under investigation. There has been another suspect identified as being involved with the break-in, however he has yet to be arrested.  

“It is extremely important for ranchers to keep a current inventory on all of their property and take the time to photograph and document each item with accurate descriptions,” said Wills. “It’s best to take a picture of the item as well as the serial number or identifying marks. Always keep your photographs and inventory in a safe and secure place where the information can be retrieved if the need arises.  

“In this case, the victim gave the responding officer a detailed description of the stolen property, which led to the quick arrest and recovery of most of the items taken in the break-in. Having this information readily available is most helpful for law enforcement officials when solving crimes such as this one,” Wills concluded.  

TSCRA would like to thank the Falls County Sheriff’s Department and Falls County District Attorney’s office for their assistance with this 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 138-year-old trade association and is the largest and oldest livestock organization based in Texas. TSCRA has more than 16,500 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.