West Texas Judge, Three Others Arrested For Cattle Rustling
Law enforcement agents traveled to a rural and sparsely populated West Texas county on Friday to arrest the county judge, a former sheriff’s deputy and two ranch hands for cattle rustling.
Loving County Judge Skeet Jones, 71, faces three felony counts of livestock theft and one count of engaging in criminal activity, allegedly gathering and selling stray cattle, according to authorities.
The four men were taken to the jail in neighboring Winkler County and have since been released on bond. Loving County is the nation’s least populated county with just 64 residents, according to the 2020 Census.
The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association says the arrests came after a yearlong investigation. The group alleges Jones and the others gathered stray cattle and sold them without following the procedures set forth in the Texas Agriculture Code. Those procedures require people to report stray livestock to the sheriff and allow for a chance to find the animals’ owners.
In Texas, county judges are essentially their local government’s chief executives, having broad administrative as well as judicial powers. Jones has been the county judge of Loving County since 2007 and earns an annual salary of more than $133,000.
Jones was released Friday after posting a $20,000 bond. Also arrested was former Loving County deputy Leroy Medlin Jr., 35, on one count of engaging in criminal activity.
The theft of livestock charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison while the organized criminal activity charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
