Woman pleads not guilty for cattle rustling

— Stephanie J. Weston, 36, of Pea Ridge, was arraigned Tuesday, Feb. 2, in Division I of McDonald County, Mo., Circuit court.

She pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of theft/stealing of any livestock animal, four counts of animal abuse and one count of theft/stealing in McDonald County Circuit Court. She is free on $10,000 bond.

A June 29 jury trial has been scheduled. Her next court date is a pre-trial conference set for May 18.

A preliminary hearing for Weston was begun Jan. 6, but was continued until Jan. 20 after defense attorney Duane Cooper questioned the ownership of the cattle and the jurisdiction from where they were allegedly taken. Cooper said the state needed to provide witnesses to testify on both of his arguments or Weston should not be held over for trial. McDonald County assistant prosecutor Sherrie Hansen called the cattle’s owner at Wednesday’s hearing. Harvey C. Keene, Pea Ridge, testified he wasleasing land in Missouri and the stolen cattle were taken from the leased land.

Keene said he was notified by an acquaintance that some cattle were stolen and he also had a message on his answering machine from the Missouri State Highway Patrol about the cattle. He testified he met law enforcement officials at the rented pasture and found several of his cows were gone. He said they then went to the Anderson Animal Hospital where he identified the cattle. He said he had raised the cattle since they were calves andknew they were his cows.

He said four of the cows had to be destroyed before he took the remaining seven back to his land, where later another died. Keene said that each cow was worth about $1,200 because they either had calves or were due to calf. The victim said he and Holder Crow, 45, of Garfield, and Weston had grown up together, but he had not given them permission to take the cattle. He said a “cheap” lock had been broken to gain access to the cattle.

Crow previously waived his preliminary hearingin the case and is awaiting trial. He is still in the McDonald County jail. His jury trial is set for May 19.

A second witness, Paul E. Arnold, testified a 20-foot gooseneck trailer had been stolen. He identified the trailer used in the theft of the cattle as one he owned and stored behind a locked gate on property he owned near where the cattle were stolen.

Cooper did not call any witnesses, but asked that one count of the animal abuse charges be dismissed because veterinarian Clay Adair testified during theJan. 6 portion of the trial he did not examine the cow that was dead when the trailer arrived at the clinic.

Judge John R. LePage ruled there was enough evidence to hold Weston over for trial on all counts.

The judge set arraignment for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Weston remains free on a $10,000 bond.

A third suspect, Ricky K. Obenshain, pleaded guilty to one count of theft and one count of animal abuse and received a sentence of eight years with the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Community, Pages 6 on 02/17/2010