Fired SAPD officer, West Texas county judge among group indicted in cattle theft ring
HOWARD COUNTY, Texas – A fired San Antonio police detective was among four men indicted late last month in connection with a West Texas cattle theft ring.
Leroy Medlin, 37, was indicted along with three other men in Howard County on second-degree felony charges of engaging in organized criminal activity, court records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.
The indictments of Medlin, Loving County Judge Skeet Jones, Jonathon Alvarado and Cody Williams come more than a year after the four men were first arrested.
They are accused of gathering stray cattle and selling them without authorization[1], which is illegal in Texas.
The four men knowingly and intentionally committed the offense of theft of livestock under £150,000, the indictments state.
Medlin and Jones were taken into custody Tuesday and have since been released from custody on £5,000 bond, a Howard County Sheriff’s official confirmed to KSAT.
Jones, 71, did not respond to a voice message seeking comment this week.
Skeet Jones, Jonathon Alvarado and Cody Williams were each indicted on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. (Winkler County Sheriff’s Office)
Arbitrator upheld Medlin’s termination earlier this year
A third-party arbitrator earlier this year upheld the indefinite termination[2] of Medlin, five years after the detective was fired for taking part in an unauthorized pursuit.
The arbitrator overseeing the case said Medlin falsely claimed he was nearly hit by the suspect’s truck prior to the April 2018 chase.
Medlin, an outspoken critic of the department and its pursuit policy[3], argued during arbitration that SAPD management distorted what he said about the chase to falsely accuse him of being a liar.
Medlin pulled over a pickup truck just after 2 a.m. in the 18000 block of Interstate 37 South.
After Medlin asked the driver of the truck, which Medlin suspected of being stolen, to get out of the vehicle, it sped off, SAPD suspension records state.
Contacted by a supervisor over the radio, Medlin told him the driver almost ran him over.
The subsequent chase reached speeds up to 106 mph, SAPD records show.
Medlin had previously been terminated by SAPD in 2015 for an unrelated unauthorized pursuit[4] but eventually got back his job after signing a last-chance agreement[5] with SAPD Chief William McManus.
Medlin was issued a third indefinite suspension in early 2019 after the administration accused him of writing traffic citations for violations he did not witness[6].
References
- ^ gathering stray cattle and selling them without authorization (www.ksat.com)
- ^ upheld the indefinite termination (www.ksat.com)
- ^ outspoken critic of the department and its pursuit policy (www.ksat.com)
- ^ in 2015 for an unrelated unauthorized pursuit (media.ksat.com)
- ^ last-chance agreement (media.ksat.com)
- ^ traffic citations for violations he did not witness (media.ksat.com)