MARLIN, Texas _ A father and son team convicted Thursday of attempted theft never had time to get away with the 18 head of cattle authorities said they were trying to steal.
A rancher caught the Houston men in the act and they didn't have time to get the cattle loaded, said Marvin Wills, a special ranger with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association located in Fort Worth.
"A rancher got a call that his cattle were out and while he was trying to round them up he saw these two men trying to steal his neighbor's cattle," Wills said. "The worst thing about it was they had stolen a trailer the kids had parked on the side of the high school."
The rancher called the authorities and identified the men, and then law enforcement obtained a warrant and picked the men up in Houston after they fled the scene, Wills said.
The two defendants, Jeremy D. Brown, 43, and Jeremy D. Brown Jr., 22, attempted to steal 18 head of cattle and a Marlin FFA trailer on March 28, 2015, a press release from the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association said.
The Browns were arrested in April 2015 and remanded to the Falls County Jail, the release said.
The defendants were both convicted of attempted cattle theft in the Falls County 82nd District Court. Sentencing is set for January 2017 and each man faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison. Wills said the cattle are valued at $38,000 and the estimated value of the trailer is $6,000.
"I am pleased these men were convicted today," Wills said. "I look forward to the upcoming sentencing and making sure these thieves pay for the poor choice they made."
