UPDATE: “Not guilty” was the plea entered Wednesday during a first appearance hearing for Jaci Rae Jackson, 19, who is charged with several felony counts relating to the thefts of five horses from the Southern Arkansas University stables on Nov. 3.
Click here to read the rest of the story from Magnoliareporter.com
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A college freshman in southern Arkansas said she watched her mother’s boyfriend kill one of five horses that she helped steal from her fellow student rodeo riders, authorities allege in a court document released Monday.
The remains of that horse, named Credit Card, were later found in southeast Oklahoma on property near Jaci Rae Jackson’s mother’s home, according to an affidavit for Jackson’s arrest warrant. The other four horses were found malnourished but alive on the same property last month.
Authorities arrested Jackson Monday during a traffic stop near Magnolia, where she studies general business at Southern Arkansas University.
Jackson, who turns 19 on Tuesday, faces six felony theft charges and was being held on $100,000 bond in the Columbia County jail. She had not retained an attorney as of Monday and is expected to appear before a judge this week. Formal charges will come later this month.
Warrants have been issued for the arrests of two other suspects in Oklahoma.
“Other suspects are known to be involved,” university police Chief Eric Plummer said in a statement. “We will work this case until everyone involved is brought to justice.”
The affidavit for Jackson’s arrest warrant claims she committed the crimes by acting as an accomplice.
In that same court document, a university police officer said Jackson had “romantic problems with at least one of the owners of the stolen horses.” It wasn’t clear whether she had problems with the young man who owned Credit Card, and a university spokesman Jeremy Langley declined to discuss a potential motive.
Jackson started riding with the team this fall.
One of Jackson’s fellow rodeo students told authorities that Jackson asked her who owned the horses that were later stolen, according to the affidavit. Another student said Jackson took notes about the locations of the stalls where the stolen horses were housed.
Then, under the cover of darkness before the school’s rodeo on Nov. 3, five horses — including Credit Card — and an aluminum trailer were stolen. Two rodeo students said they saw a dark-colored truck backing up to the trailer, according to the affidavit. Both Jackson and her mother’s boyfriend are known to drive dark-colored trucks, police said in the affidavit.
Three of the horses were worth more than $25,000 each. The other two — and the trailer — were worth somewhere between $5,000 and $25,000 each.
Authorities started investigating the theft, and on Nov. 7, an informant told officials in Oklahoma’s McCurtain County that Jackson had asked for help moving the stolen horses, authorities wrote in the affidavit. Jackson said her mother’s boyfriend had “screwed it up,” the affidavit said.
During a recorded phone conversation, Jackson told the informant that she wanted Credit Card to be killed and that she watched her mother’s boyfriend shoot the horse and slit its throat, police said in the affidavit. Jackson then said her mother’s boyfriend and a juvenile cut the horse into pieces “for easy transport and disposal.”
Credit Card’s remains matched her description when they were found last month, according to the affidavit.
A statement from the university and the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Department in Oklahoma said Jackson was also being held on three other felony charges, including bringing stolen property into Oklahoma, knowingly concealing stolen property and cruelty to animals.
* The article was taken from the Associated Press in Little Rock, Click Here to view article.
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Sadly, the last missing horse, Credit Card, was found deceased on November 25, 2011. Our hearts go out to his owner and the other victims. The other four horses continue to recover, and an investigation is ongoing.
Latest Update: Read the latest news from KTBS News by clicking here. Please contact the SAU Police Department at (870) 235-4100 or Arkansas State Police Investigator Hays McWhirter at (870) 703-2065 if you have any information regarding this crime.
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MORE NEWS: According to news reports, law enforcement officials say four of the five rodeo horses stolen from Mulerider Stables at Southern Arkansas University on November 3. 2011 have been recovered in Tom, Oklahoma in a wooded area. No one was with the horses at the time of recovery.
An updated flyer will be available later this morning on the NetPosse.com SAU report listing for the remaining horse, Credit Card, a 15-year-old sorrel gelding. Please be sure to print one and post in your area as soon as possible.
Some of the saddles and tack were recovered by deputies from the McCurtain County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Department on Thursday, November 10th and the trailer was recovered on November 3rd.
The four horses recovered are American Quarter Horses:
- Grey, a 7-year-old gray mare
- Badger, a 14-year-old black gelding
- Lena, a 14-year-old buckskin mare;
- “Black Mare.”, 10-year-old black mare
Please contact the SAU Police Department at (870) 235-4100 or Arkansas State Police Investigator Hays McWhirter at (870) 703-2065 with information regarding the theft or the location of the remaining missing horse “Credit Card”.
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UPDATE: Empty trailer has been found in Oklahoma!!
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Magnolia, Arkansas–On November 2, a trailer and five horses—all belonging to Southern Arkansas University students were stolen from Mulerider Stables at SAU in Magnolia, Arkansas. We’d like to pass on this information from the SAU Police Department with the hopes of helping to speed up the recovery.
• 2003 Featherlite trailer, silver in color, Georgia license plate TL7W102, and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) 4FGL020223C058456.
• American Quarter Horse, 16 years of age, gelding, black in color, bearing a rocking “M” brand on its left hind quarter.
• American Quarter Horse, 7 years of age, female, gray in color.
• American Quarter Horse, 14 years of age, female, buckskin in color.
• American Quarter Horse, 15 years of age, gelding, Sorrell in color, bearing a rocking “V” brand on its left front quarter, as well as a “K” brand on its right hind quarter.
• American Quarter Horse, 12 years of age, female, black in color, bearing a circle “M” brand on its left hind quarter.
The suspect vehicle is reported to be a dark colored Ford truck. The theft occurred sometime between 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 2, and 6:30 a.m. Thursday, November 3.If anyone has any information regarding the theft, please contact the SAU Police Department at (870) 235-4100 (870) 235-4100 .
