How long should a Colorado cattle shooter serve? | FORK | Opinion

A Larimer County man drove a utility vehicle side-by-side through his rural neighborhood last April, chasing and shooting livestock belonging to two different neighbors. He shot across streets and reportedly raced recklessly around houses. When the dust settled, Larimer County sheriff’s deputies and two tag inspectors found seven dead cattle and an eighth cow that was so badly injured it had to be euthanized.

According to court records, 37-year-old Michael Hester pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of aggravated animal cruelty and three counts of animal theft, all felonies, as part of a plea agreement. The agreement eliminated 12 additional charges of aggravated animal cruelty, animal theft, shooting on a public street and trespassing. For each charge, he faces two to six years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.

Can you imagine a gunman driving through your neighborhood shooting pets, only to face two to six years in prison? I realize it’s not an identical situation and the neighborhood is rural, but my blood runs cold at the thought of a man speeding around shooting.

The cattle killed near Fort Collins included four breeding cows, a yearling heifer, a herd bull and two cows with calves on their sides. The cattle that were shot belonged to two neighbors, one of whom initially witnessed the shooting. The cattle were potentially worth $2,500 to $2,800 for a bred cow and $3,000 to $3,500 for a pair of cow-calves, based on Sterling Livestock Commission Company’s sales report last week. Back then, bulls fetched about $150 per hundredweight. To provide a seasonal market comparison, bred females sold for a top price of $3,585 at the Torrington Livestock Auction last week in Torrington, Wyoming.

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Colorado is an open range state, and Colorado Fire Commissioner Todd Inglee said many fences were damaged in the area due to recent wildfires, even though state law places the responsibility for building and maintaining fences on the landowner.

Inglee said the Brand Office is working to increase contacts with local law enforcement agencies across the state to help prosecute thefts and livestock-related crimes. It’s not an easy task, although Inglee said he often presents it to prosecutors not as “what” was stolen, but rather as the value of what was stolen.

Livestock crimes should be taken seriously by prosecutors willing to take cases in court. One of the most notorious cattle thefts occurred in rural Washington state. Cody Easterday entered into a livestock feeding agreement for Tyson Fresh Meats, billing Tyson to procure and feed more than 265,000 cattle, known as the ghost herd, which exists only on paper. Easterday was in the headlines again after new sentencing guidelines called for his sentence to be reduced. Easterday reportedly filed a motion to have his original 11-year prison sentence for fraud reduced to eight years and one month. Federal prosecutors disagree with a 35-month reduction and argue that an 11-month reduction is the maximum reduction that should be granted.

I believe federal prosecutors’ reduction of Easterday’s sentence by more than a quarter sets a bad example of white-collar crime, and I also advocate for livestock crimes. Easterday was born into a highly successful farming business and the extent of his crimes – $233 million from Tyson and another $11 million from another investment group – should be taken seriously. The cattle weren’t real, but the money was.

It’s similar in Hester’s case. I’m not a mental health expert, but I wonder what underlying complications led to a shooting spree. That’s exactly what it was, and I hope the judgment reflects that. Hester is scheduled to appear in court on January 31 for sentencing.

The Brand Board exists before the state and plays an important role in preventing theft of horses and cattle. A trademark examination is required when: the owner changes; there are intrastate transportation options of more than 75 miles; there are out-of-state transportation options; before slaughter; upon entering a feedlot in Colorado; prior to sale at a licensed Colorado livestock market; when shipped from a Colorado feedlot for slaughter (unless the feedlot is licensed as certified by the Brand Board); when unbranded or freshly branded beef calves are weaned and sent to market or slaughter; and when cattle owned by a non-resident of Colorado enter the state for grazing. Brand inspectors are particularly busy at this time of year as the fall brings cattle home from the grass and calves are shipped.

Rachel Fork writes about agriculture and rural issues. She is deputy editor of Fence Post Magazine, the region’s leading agricultural publication. Fork is a subsidiary of the state’s oil and gas industry and a member of one of the state’s 12,000 ranching families. She is the author of children’s books that are used in hundreds of classrooms to teach students about agriculture.