Special rangers in Texas have reportedly broken up a cattle rustling scheme involving a public official.
On Friday, the top seated official in the least populated county in the state of Texas was arrested. Loving County Judge Skeet Jones is accused of livestock theft and organized criminal activity – it is one of Texas’ oldest crimes — cattle theft.
71-year-old Judge is facing three felony counts of livestock theft and one count of engaging in criminal activity, accused of gathering up and selling stray cattle, authorities said.
Jones, the scion of a powerful ranching family that settled in Loving County in the 1950s, was booked into Winkler County Jail on Friday and released on a $20,000 bond, records show. He did not return phone calls seeking comment
The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association said in a statement:
“The arrests came as a result of an ongoing, year-long investigation. The defendants allegedly gathered estray cattle in the area and sold them without following the legal procedures set forth in Chapter 142 of the Texas Agriculture Code, along with other possible violations.”
#NEW: The Winkler County Sheriff’s Office just released the mugshots of todays arrests.
Skeet Jones – 3 counts of Theft of Livestock < $150,000 1 count of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity pic.twitter.com/1xkMabOGgE
— Tatum Guinn (@tatumguinn) May 21, 2022
Daily Wire has more details of the incident:
Exact details as to how the suspects allegedly stole cattle were not available. Under Texas law, if a loose livestock animal wanders onto someone’s property, the property owner must report it to the sheriff, who then contacts the rightful owner to arrange its return.
Jones, 71, who has been a judge in the tiny West Texas county, population 57, for 15 years, was taken to the nearby Winkler County jail. He and three other suspects, Cody Williams, Jonathon Alvarado, and Leroy Medlin were released after posting bond Friday night, News West 9 reported.
Winkler County is just east of Loving, which is Texas’ smallest county and doesn’t have its own jail, school, or even a church.
Jones has been in trouble before. In 2016, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct disciplined him for changing speeding tickets into parking violations to allow offenders to pay a higher fine but maintain a clean driving record.
The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is part of the Texas Department of Public Safety, and its special rangers investigate livestock theft and other crimes involving farming and ranching.
The idea that Jones, who NBC News reported earns a $133,294 salary, would be allegedly stealing cattle was hard to fathom for one local lawyer who spoke to the outlet.
“You can’t make this s*** up,” attorney Susan Hays told NBC. “It’s a pain in the ass to round up cattle and take them to market. And then to risk real trouble for it? It’s just asinine to me.”
For decades, a handful of prominent families in Loving County have feuded bitterly for control of the local government, with the Joneses finally largely coming out ahead. Skeet Jones has served as the judge for more than 15 years.
His sister is the county clerk. His cousin’s husband is the county attorney. His nephew is the constable.
But some recently elected county officials have been butting heads with the Joneses and their allies, making for colorful commissioner’s court meetings and a much-anticipated November election.
And blood is no longer holding the Jones family together.
Sources: DailyWire, News West 9, NBC News
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