PINEVILLE, Mo. — Stephanie Weston, the third and final person charged in connection with stealing 11 cattle from a southeast McDonald County farm, pleaded guilty June 7 to one count of stealing and one count of animal abuse.

Weston, 36, of Pea Ridge, was sentenced toseven years on the stealing charge and four years on the animal abuse charge.

The terms are to run concurrently.

Weston was originally charged with 12 counts of stealing - 11 cows, plus a cattle trailer - and four counts of animal abuse.

The animal abuse charges were filed after the trio of suspects, Weston, Holder P. Crow of Garfield, and Ricky K. Obenshain of Hindsville, were stoppedSept. 8, 2009, by the Missouri Highway Patrol when a motorist reported a cow had fallen through a trailer and was being drug along Highway 71 in the Goodman area.

The injured cow had to be destroyed due to the condition of its legs.

Two other cows were euthanized and another was dead at arrival at a veterinary clinic, all due to the over-packed conditions in the trailer andlack of water. Obenshain pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to one count of stealing and one count of animal abuse.

He received a sentence of seven years for the stealing charge and one year for the animal abuse charge.

Obenshain’s sentences are to run consecutively.

Crow awaits sentencing following his May 29 trial in which a McDonald County jury found him guilty of 12 counts of stealing and one count ofanimal abuse. Crow was acquitted on three counts of animal abuse.

Crow’s father, Arthur T.

Crow, 79, of Jane, remains in the McDonald County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond after he was charged May 20 with tampering with a judicial proceeding. The elder Crow was accused of threatening Judge John LePage, the judge assigned to his son’s case.

According to a probable cause statement filed byMcDonald County Deputy Travis Horn, Arthur Crow called the Springfield Bar Association and threatened to kill LePage. Horn reported the elder Crow said “Judge LePage needs to die, that he had the means to do it and was going to take the matter into his own hands.”

Arthur Crow’s next court date is a pretrial conference set for July 26 before Judge Charles D. Curless.

News, Pages 13 on 06/23/2010