December 12, 2023 – Former Sulphur Springs Police officer Bo Fox along with Larry Hand and Darrell Bobbitt who are all Special Rangers with the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) began an investigation of cattle theft back in December of 2021. That investigation proved to be lengthy as the three investigators were contacted by an absentee landowner in Smith County who noticed “irregularities” in cattle sales from their ranch.
Their investigation led to ranch worker Jesus Sergio Perez-Sanchez, age 67, who was arrested March 11, 2022 on two felony charges for theft of livestock. One charge for allegedly taking three yearlings to the livestock auction and placing one of them in his own name without the absentee landowner’s consent. The second charge is for allegedly taking one bull and one cow to the livestock auction and placing the cow under his own name without the consent of the same absentee landowner.
According to Smith County judicial records Perez-Sanchez pleaded guilty to theft of cattle/horse/exotic livestock of more than $30,000 but less than $150,000 on December 8, 2023. He was sentenced to six years in prison on the third degree felony.
TSCRA’s Special Rangers are an elite group of law enforcement officers who have extensive knowledge of the cattle industry and primarily investigate cattle theft and other agricultural crimes, though they are well-trained in all facets of law enforcement. In all, TSCRA has 30 Special Rangers stationed throughout Texas and Oklahoma who are commissioned through the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) or Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI). Former Sulphur Springs Police officer Bo Fox joined the TSCRA back in 2018 after the departure of Toney Hurley. His district covers 11 counties: Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Franklin, Hopkins, Lamar, Morris, Rains, Red River and Titus.
The Special Rangers also oversee more than 80 TSCRA market inspectors who collect data, such as brands and other identifying marks on 4 to 5 million cattle sold at 100 Texas livestock markets each year. Market inspectors report their findings to TSCRA’s Fort Worth headquarters, where the information is entered into the nation’s largest brand recording and retrieval system. The database is a vital tool for law enforcement when investigating theft cases.
