Monday afternoon, Hopkins County Sheriff’s Investigators met Lane Wesley Keller, 21, of Sulphur Springs at his attorney’s office where he confessed to his involvement in an ongoing investigation into the theft of cattle in Hopkins County. Keller took investigators to the location where the cattle had been loaded into a trailer for transport to Oklahoma to be sold. He was also served an outstanding warrant for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. The UUMV was related to an ATV used in the theft.
Keller is in Hopkins County jail charged with Theft Cattle less than $150,000 and UUMV. He is being held on a total of $30,000 in bonds.
Previously, KSST News reported that Hopkins County Sheriff’s Investigator Dennis Findley and Texas State Cattle Raisers’ Special Ranger Toney Hurley arrested Keller and one other for the theft of 12 head of cattle and selling them in Oklahoma. Hopkins County Sheriff Lewis Tatum stated that at the first of October a report was made on cattle stolen in the northern part of Hopkins County. Tatum stated that Investigator Findley and Special Ranger Hurley tracked the pair using video from cameras in the area of the theft and were able to trace the sale records in Oklahoma. Tatum stated that attempts to recover the cattle are underway but with the cattle having been sold in Oklahoma there may be a few issues to overcome.
Findley’s use of video was a major source for solving this theft. Tatum stated that one would not think about video surveillance in the remote areas of the county but well placed cameras with quality definition enabled local officers to identify vehicles and individuals as well. The Sheriff said video surveillance is not just used for hunting purposes but also to protect property.
Tatum said there are cattle thefts in the northern part of the county that have not been solved at this time but he hopes this will assist in solving those. The pair has been arrested for theft in the past according to their jail records.
