A Labette County cattle thief is being held in the Cherokee County Jail after new charges have been filed against him.
Anthony Whittley, 26, of rural Parsons, is accused of stealing 8 head of cattle from a location north of Columbus in November, 2018.
Through a joint investigation by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, the Livestock Investigation Unit of the Kansas Attorney General's Office and Special Agents with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Whittley was originally arrested in Oklahoma City on December 11, 2018, after stealing 17 head of cattle south of Columbus and attempting to sell them later that morning in Oklahoma City.
Whittley was federally indicted and convicted for stealing the 17 head of cattle south of Columbus, but was not charged in federal court for stealing the 8 head north of Columbus. Through the investigation, it was learned those 8 head had been sold through a livestock auction in Benton County, Arkansas.
After recently being released from federal custody, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office requested new charges be filed in Cherokee County District Court for Whittley's alleged theft of the 8 head of cattle.
"This investigation, which was an incredible joint effort among livestock owners, investigators from multiple agencies and states and livestock auction personnel, resulted in the arrest and federal conviction of a man, who is believed to have been involved in multiple livestock thefts from across the region for a period spanning from at least 2017 to 2018," stated Cherokee County Sheriff David Groves.
"It's important he be held accountable for each theft he committed in every jurisdiction, which is why we felt it was necessary, despite he being federally convicted of one occurrence in Cherokee County, that he also be charged in state court with the other alleged crime he committed," concluded Sheriff Groves.
Whittley is currently being held in the Cherokee County Jail in lieu of $65,000.00 bond.
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