TSCRA investigators find cattle, weapons, drugs

FORT WORTH, Texas, August 2, 2006―A routine call about four missing cows turned out to be anything but for TSCRA special rangers and investigators from Brazos and Robertson counties.
      That call put the officers on a trail that led to charges against a convicted felon for possession of illegal drugs and firearms, stolen trailers and welders, and seven counts of cattle theft totaling 42 head.
      It all started about 8:30 p.m. on Monday, July 24, when Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Special Ranger Brent Mast got a call from James Jett, TSCRA’s market inspector in Bryan, Texas.
      TSCRA employs 80 market inspectors who inspect every head of cattle sold at the 119 auction markets in Texas, recording descriptions of the cattle and information on the buyer and seller.
      Mast is one of 29 TSCRA law enforcement officers stationed strategically throughout Texas and Oklahoma, who are commissioned as Special Rangers by the Texas Department of Public Safety and/or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
      During 2005 TSCRA market inspectors identified a total of 4,766,235 head of cattle and TSCRA special rangers recovered or accounted for stolen livestock and ranch equipment valued at more than $6.2 million.
      Market Inspector Jett had gotten a call from Pat Shields, manager of the Brazos Valley Livestock Commission in Bryan, reporting that he thought four cattle just delivered had been stolen out of Robertson County. Jett immediately called Mast, who contacted Shields to get the details.
      The sale barn had been alerted earlier that day by Stanley McBride, a Robertson County rancher, who had noticed that three cows and a bull were missing when he made his usual rounds. The chain locking his gate had been cut and surrounding weeds had been trampled, suggesting the cattle had been loaded into a trailer.
      McBride reported the missing animals to his local sheriff’s department then took the initiative in his own hands and called the local sale barns. He described the cattle in detail—two big, red and white cows, a black cow and a big, Gert-type bull. All had an underhack in each ear.
      “I think those cattle have been delivered up here,” the market operator told Mast.
      They had been taken to the barn by Bryan Allen Renfrow, 20, to be sold under the name of Terry Carl Meadors, 48. Both men are from New Baden, Texas.
      McBride arrived at the barn about 5:30 p.m. and positively identified the cattle as his, less than 12 hours after finding them gone.
      The next day was sale day and the investigators got there early—TSCRA Special Rangers Mast and Tommy Johnson; Jerry Stover, chief deputy, and Joe Davis, investigator, with the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office; and Jeff Reeves, investigator with the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office.
      The officers arranged to have the cattle run through the sale, just in case Renfrow or Meadors showed up to watch. The suspects had put a hold on the check so they could pick it up in person.
      The investigators got into position, some in two pickups in the parking lot, others inside by the office. The suspects showed up about 4:30 p.m. Meadors waited outside in a truck while Renfrow went in to pick up a check for $2,962 made out to Meadors. When Renfrow returned to the truck, the officers blocked them in and arrested both men.
      TSCRA Special Ranger Jimmy Belt joined the officers for the follow-up investigations. Search warrants issued on Meadors’ property turned up a lot more than expected—more cattle, four trailers, some welders, 15 weapons and a stash of methamphetamines and marijuana—big trouble for Meadors, a convicted felon.
      The suspects subsequently admitted to six other cattle thefts, beginning last May. Investigators are currently trying to track down the 42 cattle involved.
      Rancher Stanley McBride, whose call started the case, loaded up his cattle and took them home. Other ranchers should take a lesson from McBride, says Mast.
      “He checked his cattle regularly and contacted law officers and local sale barns immediately. The sooner we know cattle have been taken, the better the chances the owner will get them back!”

      Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is a 129-year-old trade organization whose 13,900 members manage approximately 4.9 million cattle on 66.6 million acres of range and pasture land, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma.

TSCRA―22―2006