A Pattison, Texas, woman turned herself in Monday morning in Jasper after investigators say she and her husband spent months rustling cattle across multiple counties — writing hot checks and checks on closed accounts at auction barns throughout the region.
Janay Monique Smith, 45, was booked into the Jasper County Jail at 5:45 a.m. on a third-degree felony charge of theft of livestock valued at less than $150,000, according to the Jasper County Sheriff's Office.
The warrant stemmed from an investigation by the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. Special Ranger Mike Boone, of the Cattle Raisers Association said Smith and her husband, Douglas Smith, had been under investigation for months for buying and selling livestock at at least 10 auction barns using hot checks and checks drawn on closed accounts — a scheme that spanned multiple counties.
Both Janay and Douglas Smith face five felony charges each in connection with the case, Boone said.
Douglas Smith was arrested last week in Lake Jackson. He remains jailed in Waller County, where he faces two counts of theft of cattle, horse or exotic livestock and one count of theft of sheep, swine or goats, according to the Waller County Sheriff's Office.