Cattle rustling and DNA

[Alice]

Found this interesting...especially since it happened in my county!

...accused of stealing calves from an Erath County dairy last year pleaded guilty Monday in the 266th Judicial District Court.

Sergio Garcia Alvarado was sentenced to 12 months in a state jail facility and ordered to pay restitution after pleading guilty to theft.

Alvarado was arrested last year after he was linked to a stolen dairy cow by DNA evidence — a story that unfolded like a television crime show.
Investigator Bob Gonzales with the Erath County Sheriff's Department said seven Holstein calves were reportedly stolen from the Schouten Dairy in September 2008.

He said Alvarado tried to sell the calves two days later at the Erath County Dairy Sale barn, but authorities could not prove the stolen calves belonged to the Schoutens. The Schoutens agreed to pay for a bovine DNA test to help identify the missing calves.

Gonzales said samples were taken from the suspect calves and from the Schouten's stock, then analyzed at a California lab. One calf was a positive match.

"We're opening new doors for these sorts of cases," Gonzales said. "It's the first case where the suspect was arrested based on bovine DNA."

 

[VanC]

That is interesting, but I don't understand why only one calf out of seven was a positive match. Either way, my hat's off to Algore for his pioneering work in DNA technology. :lol2:

 

[Beefy]

yeah i got into a dispute with one of my neighbors when one of my dads cows got out and he thought it was his. i had opened the gate and was running the cow in just as he pulled his trailer up to get her (?). he said "son, what makes you so sure thats your cow?" and i said "b/c i know every $@#% one of my cows!". i went on to tell him that i had several of her daughters in the herd we could DNA test if he didnt believe me or maybe the calf that was running to suck on her in my pasture would suffice. "well, i guess maybe youre right", he said.