Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Special Ranger Larry Hand led the investigation. TSCRA Special Ranger Jimmy Dickson and TSCRA Market Inspector Mike Miller assisted.
According to Hand, the suspect Christian Rhuns Collins, 27, along with the other suspects, Gwivonna Long Jr., Charlie Divonne Long and Jovante Duran Fields, all Nacogdoches, Texas natives, were involved in the cattle theft that occurred in Oct. 2014. Collins was arrested Friday, Sept. 11 and the other suspects were arrested earlier this year.
Hand said that Risinger left his pasture and locked the gate late on Oct. 23, 2014, and he arrived the following morning to find the gate chain had been cut. He immediately realized that four grown cows were missing and one calf remained in the pasture.
Risinger contacted Hand and the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office. Hand promptly traveled to the scene of the crime and alerted neighboring TSCRA Special Rangers and market inspectors. Miller was able to locate the four stolen heifers at the Athens Livestock sale barn.
The investigation revealed that the four suspects delivered the cattle to the livestock barn and they sold the next day. The check was cashed for $7,647.20, and it was divided among the four suspects.
Authorities were able to identify the cattle sold indeed belonged to Risinger by visual inspection and by bringing the orphaned calf to the cattle where it immediately began nursing one of the stolen cows.
Collins and Fields are both being held at the Rusk County Jail on two $75,000 bonds. Gwivonna Long pled guilty and was sentenced to two years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Charlie Long is out on a $75,000 bond.
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