For more information:
Lee Benson, Public Information Officer
lee.benson@odaff-staging.kochcomm.dev | 405.522.5479
May 16, 2023
Caddo County Man Arrested in Cattle Theft Case
APACHE, Okla. — A Caddo County man was arrested May 4, and charged with six counts of felony theft of livestock. The approximate value of the livestock is $5,000.
The charges filed are the result of an investigation by the Agriculture Investigative Services Unit at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
In February, Joshua Milton Bybee of Apache, Oklahoma, allegedly stole five cows and one calf from a neighbor before selling the livestock at a nearby livestock auction. Bybee sold the livestock under his mother’s name.
“The sale barn helped us determine that two of the stolen animals, a cow and the calf, were sold to a resident just south of Apache,” said ODAFF Special Agent Devin Huckabay. “We were able to take a DNA sample of the calf, which was a perfect match to an older bull on the neighbor’s property where the livestock were originally stolen.”
After learning of the DNA match, Bybee told Special Agent Huckabay that he had driven onto his neighbor’s property, loaded the six animals, then took them to sell at the nearby livestock auction. Bybee said he sold the livestock under his mother’s name.
“I’d like to thank Special Agents Paul Cornett and Michael Vaught for assisting with this investigation,” Huckabay said.
The ODAFF Investigative Services Unit was created to investigate crime victimizing Oklahoma agriculture. All Special Agents have expertise in multiple areas of agriculture and are CLEET certified Peace Officers in the State of Oklahoma.
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