A Valley Springs man, 31-year-old Shane Horn, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to extensive probation for his role in a 2015 cattle theft case in which cattle were stolen from a farm in the Alpena area. Another defendant in the case, Aaron Sayres, will not be prosecuted. The case was set for trial, but Horn pleaded guilty instead.
According to the Harrison Daily Times, Boone County Circuit Court Judge Gordon Webb said Horn pleaded guilty to the class b felony, while court records show charges against Sayres were dismissed in November because they were based on Horns testimony as a co-conspirator, which might be unreliable.
According to an arrest affidavit, Horn went to James Blocks farm, in the Alpena area, on more than one occasion, taking cattle and then selling them at stockyards in Green Forest, Siloam Springs and Springdale, as well as in Joplin. The value of the cattle stolen was in excess of $50,000. Officials say a tracking device was place on the trailer Horn was accused of using and it showed the trailer at Blocks property on the dates in question.
The defense filed a motion to suppress the evidence, but Webb said he ruled, after a hearing on the motion, that police followed proper procedures in obtaining a search warrant for the tracking device and the evidence would be permitted at the trial.
Webb says Horn admitted he had become addicted to meth during the time of the thefts. He went into treatment and requested to make restitution to the Block Family. In order to see restitution to the family as soon as possible Webb sentenced Horn to 120 days in jail, required him to finish his last six months of the treatment program, spend 16 years on probation and pay $300 dollars a month in restitution.
According to the Harrison Daily Times, Boone County Circuit Court Judge Gordon Webb said Horn pleaded guilty to the class b felony, while court records show charges against Sayres were dismissed in November because they were based on Horns testimony as a co-conspirator, which might be unreliable.
According to an arrest affidavit, Horn went to James Blocks farm, in the Alpena area, on more than one occasion, taking cattle and then selling them at stockyards in Green Forest, Siloam Springs and Springdale, as well as in Joplin. The value of the cattle stolen was in excess of $50,000. Officials say a tracking device was place on the trailer Horn was accused of using and it showed the trailer at Blocks property on the dates in question.
The defense filed a motion to suppress the evidence, but Webb said he ruled, after a hearing on the motion, that police followed proper procedures in obtaining a search warrant for the tracking device and the evidence would be permitted at the trial.
Webb says Horn admitted he had become addicted to meth during the time of the thefts. He went into treatment and requested to make restitution to the Block Family. In order to see restitution to the family as soon as possible Webb sentenced Horn to 120 days in jail, required him to finish his last six months of the treatment program, spend 16 years on probation and pay $300 dollars a month in restitution.
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