A rural Blue Hill man faces felony charges in Webster and Clay counties in connection with an alleged cattle rustling incident in January.
An arrest warrant for Austin A. Petr, 26, was issued April 21. He faces felony charges in both Webster and Clay counties in connection with cattle rustling charges Petr posted a $100,000 surety bond and was released from custody. He was bound over to Webster County District Court on one count of felony theft by taking, value exceeding $5,000.
June 15 he is scheduled to be arraigned on that charge at 11:15 a.m. June 15 at the courthouse in Red Cloud.
Petr also stands charged with seven counts of prohibited sale of livestock in Clay County. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on those charges in Clay County Court at 11 a.m. June 13.
The theft by taking charge from Webster County is a Class 2A felony punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment. The prohibited sale of livestock charges all are Class 3 felonies punishable by up to four years’ imprisonment, up to two years’ supervised release and a fine of up to $25,000.
The charges against Petr relate to the disappearance of feeder calves belonging to Alan Johnson of Blue Hill from a location along Road 1600 one-half mile south of Road U in Webster County. The calves were reported missing the morning of Jan. 13, and Johnson told authorities they had been taken overnight.
A commercial trucker loaded all 70 head of cattle at Petr's yard the morning of the 12th. he delivered them to the Sutton livestock barn where Petr had consigned 70 head of feeder cattle for sale
Authorities allowed Petr to sell the animals carrying his brand but not the others. Authorities then worked with a local veterinarian to collect hair samples from the held animals.
When DNA from the calves’ hair later was matched against blood samples from cows in Johnson’s herd which authorities determined provided evidence that those 27 of the30 calves had come from Johnson’s herd.
March 17 with a search warrant for Petr’s farm officers seized items including cellular and electronic devices, email and social media accounts, and a livestock trailer parked there.