NEWKIRK — With their beef over alleged cattle theft making headlines across Oklahoma for two weeks, neither indicted Kay County Commissioner Shane Jones nor accuser Newkirk Public Schools Board of Education member Jeff Schieber had much to say about the curious case after their respective meetings Monday.
“No comment,” Jones said after the Kay County Board of Commissioners adjourned Monday morning.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office announced July 30 that Jones had been indicted by the state’s multi-county grand jury on 10 charges related to the alleged theft of Schieber’s cattle. According to a sealed indictment sent to media alongside Drummond’s press release, Jones is charged with one count of larceny of livestock and nine counts of branding with intent to defraud.
The indictment is scant on details, but it alleges that between Jan. 1 and Feb. 12, Jones “knowingly and willfully stole cattle belonging to Jeff Schieber with the intent to deprive him of said cattle.” Drummond’s office provided slightly more details in its press release, alleging “Jones was hired by a cattle auction facility to transport livestock” and claiming he “took at least nine cows and branded them as his own.”
Jones, who represents Kay County District 1, had his bond set at $10,000, which he paid, according to Kay News Cow.
Despite the indictment, Jones continues to serve on the Kay County Board of Commissioners, but he did step down as its chairman. Commissioner Jeff Kreger was elected as the board’s new chairman at Monday’s meeting, while Commissioner Jason Shanks was elected vice chairman.
As Jones was asked about the charges against him, Kreger interrupted Jones’ response to express displeasure at his colleague being interviewed about the allegations inside the board’s meeting room, despite the fact the meeting had adjourned.
“You need to talk to him outside,” Kreger said. “This is not how we do business.”
Jones was initially appointed to the Kay County Board of Commissioners by Gov. Kevin Stitt on June 17, 2022, to replace Jack Godberson, who proclaimed “life is short” and “politics stink” upon his retirement. He previously served as the deputy county commissioner for Godberson before his appointment.
Kay County officials recuse from Shane Jones case
Jones’ elected position in Kay County, which requires him to work closely with other county employees, prevents local officials from handling his criminal case. District Attorney Brian Hermanson — who also attended the Aug. 11 commissioners meeting and whose office represents the county commissioners in a civil capacity — recused himself from the Jones investigation at some point in the process, according to The Newkirk Herald Journal.
Court records indicate the case is being overseen by an assistant attorney general instead of a district attorney, although a court minute filed Aug. 8 is largely illegible.
Kay County District Judge Lee Turner also recused, citing the fact “that the court’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned in this case based on the defendant being a member of the Kay County Board of Commissioners.”
Presiding Judge of the North Central District Court John G. Canavan Jr. — a Pottawatomie County district judge — assigned Payne County District Judge Jason Reese to handle the case Aug. 4. It marks at least the second time that Reese has been assigned a case from another district following a recusal.
While most of the recusals have cited a connection to Jones, the fact Schieber — the Newkirk school board member who alleges his cattle was stolen — is also an elected official in the same county further increases the number of locals who may have a conflict of interest in the case. Coincidentally, Drummond also knows Schieber, having previously worked as his criminal defense attorney on 2020 charges for allowing domesticated animals to roam. (Schieber was given a deferred sentence, according to Kay News Cow, and charges appear to have been dismissed.)
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office confirmed Schieber “was a former client” of Drummond.
Schieber: ‘I’m going to stay plumb out of it’
Asked about the allegations in the indictment after the Newkirk Public School Board’s meeting Monday, Schieber also declined to provide details.
“Yeah, you did (see my name in the indictment),” Schieber said with a laugh. “I’m going to stay plumb out of it. I’ve been recommended by my attorney to leave that alone.”
Drummond, who served “Drummond Beef” from his family’s cattle ranch at his gubernatorial campaign launch in neighboring Osage County, stressed in the July 30 press release that his office considered cattle rustling a major offense.
“Cattle theft is a serious crime that undermines Oklahoma’s agricultural industry,” Drummond said in the release. “We aren’t afraid to vigorously prosecute those who steal livestock, regardless of their position in the community.”
While evocative of the state’s 20th-century history, cattle rustling remains a problem in rural Oklahoma into the present day. In Osage County, the Osage Nation is investigating the disappearance of at least 17 cows from the nation’s cattle ranch. There is no indication that the cattle incidents in Kay County and Osage County are related.
Osage County Sheriff Bart Perrier told Osage News the theft from the Osage Nation was a “low-risk, high-reward crime” owing to the ranch’s 43,000-acre size and the fact only three cowboys are working the ranch.
Clay McKinney, director of law enforcement for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, told Osage News cattle rustlers typically know the schedules of ranch hands.
“I don’t think it would be fair to cast any kind of blame in this (Osage Nation) instance. (…) I can tell you I have seen theft occur at producers’ ranches who are the best in the business and have been in the business for generations and still get cattle stolen from them,” McKinney said. “The crooks are good at what they do, until they get caught — and they all eventually get caught. They know where the gates are, they know when the gates are not locked, they know when the cowboys make their rounds.”
The Osage Nation cattle theft also coincided with the end of the Cavalcade Rodeo, according to Osage News. Historically, some cowboys in Osage County have engaged in less-than-legal tactics to fund their rodeo careers, including Rodeo Hall of Fame member, moonshiner and possible co-conspirator in some of the early 20th century Osage Indian murders, Henry Grammer. A world-famous steer roper, Grammer served a sentence for killing a sheepshearer in Montana and before his death in a suspicious Osage County car accident in 1923.
While most modern cowboys have not been involved in cattle rustling, the occasional cattle theft by a cowboy to cover rodeo fees continues in rural Oklahoma.
Read the Shane Jones indictment
