FORT WORTH, Texas — Heath Thomas Curry of Falls County was arrested and charged with felony theft of livestock. The charges filed are the result of an investigation led by Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Special Ranger Steven Jeter.
In February, Special Ranger Jeter received a call from a Nebraska rancher with a cow-calf operation in Robertson County, Texas. For the past five years, the rancher had employed Curry to serve as the ranch manager, overseeing daily operations and annual shipments of annual calf crops to Nebraska. The rancher noticed his calf crop was diminishing, and conducted an audit where he discovered missing cattle.
Jeter initiated an investigation, searching for cattle matching the rancher’s description at area livestock auction barns.
After reviewing TSCRA inspection records, Jeter discovered Curry sold branded and unbranded cattle in his own name at multiple livestock auction barns in the area. Jeter confirmed with the rancher, the cattle sold belonged to the rancher, not Curry.
Curry was arrested and taken to the Robertson County jail where he was later charged and released on a $50,000 bond.
Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Special Ranger team would like to thank the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office and the Robertson County District Attorney’s Office for their joint effort in the investigation.
Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association’s special rangers are an elite group of law enforcement officers who have extensive knowledge of the cattle industry. While they primarily investigate cattle theft and other agricultural crimes, they are well-trained in all facets of law enforcement. In all, the association has 30 special rangers stationed throughout Texas and Oklahoma who are commissioned through the Texas Department of Public Safety or Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
The special rangers also oversee more than 80 market inspectors who collect data, such as brands and other identifying marks on about 5 million cattle sold at 100 Texas livestock markets each year. That information is entered into the association’s recording and retrieval system, which is a vital tool for law enforcement when investigating theft cases.
–Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association