Rustling was once a hanging offense. Today it's a class C felony punishable by one to five years in prison.
While cattle theft may not be the scourge it once was, it does still happen. Churchill County authorities issued an arrest warrant on April 30 for Brian Dale Peacock, also known to state brand inspectors and one Fallon-area rancher as "Salty Van Kirk." He's suspected in 28 counts of the age old crime of rustling.
Last month, Reno resident and Churchill County rancher Alan Mendes drove out to a pasture on Curry Road to check his herd of longhorns, only to find about 28 fewer than had been grazing there the week before.
Suspicious of a prospective buyer who had inquired about the cattle the week before, Mendes alerted authorities who spread the word across state lines.
"We put out a Missing Livestock Report and an Agricultural Enforcement Officer in Arizona spotted the cattle," said Nevada State Brand Inspector Jim Connelley.
According to the Nevada Department of Agriculture, the two suspects hauling the cattle were arrested in Arizona on charges of using an unrecorded brand, misbranding and entering the state with livestock without a health certificate.
Churchill County Deputy District Attorney Tom Stockard said, when questioned by Nevada investigators, the two suspects quickly began cooperating and investigators determined the 28 cattle in the suspects' possession belonged to Mendes.
Since then, law enforcement officials have been looking for Peacock, who police say goes by a third alias, "Robin Leroy Madison."
In a criminal complaint filed April 30, Mendes said Peacock, going by the name of Salty, had come out to look at his cattle just before Easter weekend. Peacock wasn't firm on buying any at the time, so Mendes told him he would be out of town over the weekend and to call him the following week.
The call Mendes received, according to the report, was a neighbor saying someone with a truck and trailer had been poking around the cattle on Easter Sunday.
Authorities still have not tracked down Peacock, but they hope to soon find him and his girlfriend Shelli Renee Hollaway, who police think may also be involved in the cattle thefts.
"We believe they are doing this in other places too," Stockard said.
Peacock faces 28 charges of grand larceny for alleged theft of cattle valued at $13,000. Each count is punishable by one to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Stockard said the people arrested in Arizona have not been charged in Churchill County but they could be in the future.
