Rustlers pick the wrong calf to nab

By Keith Gushard

05/17/08 May 16, 2008 11:29 pm

— BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — Clint Miller says fate apparently played a hand in the arrest of two would-be cattle rustlers who allegedly filched a calf last month from the Bloomfield Township farm he operates with his father and brother.
Now, Justin Eugene Cooper, 19, and David Arthur Sherman, 33, both of Union City, have been charged by Pennsylvania State Police with one count each of theft by unlawful taking and face a maximum of two years in jail and a $2,500 fine, if convicted.
“A lot of things just fell into place,” Miller said Friday of how he spotted the snow-white Holstein heifer calf up for sale at the Meadville Livestock Auction on April 16 — just two days after it allegedly was taken.
“I was happy to find it — but then I wanted to know who took it,” Miller said.
Police allege the Holstein heifer calf was tied to a calf house at the farm on Chelton Hill Road when it was taken sometime April 14.
On April 15, the calf was taken to Mercer Livestock Auction, where it was sold to a livestock dealer, police said.
The dealer then took it to Meadville Livestock Auction on April 16 and planned to sell it there, according to said.
However, Miller was at Meadville Livestock Auction that day to sell some other cows when he spotted the animal prior to the sale.
“It was a big surprise,” Miller said. “It’s all snow white — there aren’t many like that around.”
Miller was able to prove ownership because of a knotted piece of string tied on the calf — something he mentioned to police when reporting the theft.
After the animal was born, it had a bloody navel area after the umbilical cord was severed.
“The vet (veterinarian) had us tie a string (around the remainder of the cord) to stop the bleeding,” Miller said.
The area was covered with iodine and the string cut down, but the knot remained and was due to fall off as the animal grew.
Investigators from state police at Corry and Meadville initially were led to Cooper after they found Mercer Livestock Auction had issued a check to him on April 15 for the sale of the calf, police said. Additional investigation found both Cooper and Sherman were involved in the theft, according to police.
“We’ve never had anything stolen — especially not a calf,” said Miller, who is a third-generation farmer. The farm has about a 60-cow milking herd and about 150 cows in total including six to 12 calves at any one time.
The Millers are taking one security precaution for their calves since the alleged theft, he said. They’re placing a number tag in each calf’s ear right away.