February 8, 2024 |
Photo – Cattle Hauler – Courtesy Adobe Stock
If you ever wondered whether a random truck carrying cattle down the highway has all the necessary paperwork for the livestock, this story is for you.
The case of the stolen heifers started Tuesday evening during a traffic stop north of Cheyenne.
According to the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, a 77-year-old resident of Kinnear, Wyoming, in central Fremont County, was stopped on U.S. 85 near Morning Star Road a little after 5:30 p.m. on February 6,
The driver, Joy Tom Smith, was clocked by a deputy doing 75 in a 65 mile-per-hour zone.
Upon inspection of the rig, the deputy recognized the brands were not in order and called another deputy who had recently taken a brand inspection class through the Wyoming Livestock Board. The second deputy suspected something was out of order and called a brand inspector and the Wyoming Highway Patrol to help with the inspection.
In a social media post, the sheriff’s department said the truck was taken out of service for being unsafe and the driver cited for not having a CDL, insurance, or registration.
Police seized 39 cows and put them in a stockyard Tuesday night while police investigated was going on. The truck driver had no paperwork.
By Wednesday evening, everybody’s story checked out. Another driver who was hauling for the owner of the cows produced the necessary paperwork and the bovine were free to go.
