From Court and police documents
Layton Smith, 19, of Viola, was charged with Theft of Property, a Class C Felony, on May 20 for theft of livestock.
On May 9, Tim Leslie reported a livestock theft to the Salem Police Department. A Salem police officer had been looking for video evidence of a suspect, later identified as Layton Smith.
On May 10, the police officer contacted the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, letting them know he had located the vehicle and trailer in the video and matching them with tire impressions from Leslie’s property.
Alicia and Brach Hill, who had raised Layton from an early age, were contacted. They advised that cattle were missing from various properties and told police they believed Layton had taken them. Family members also told police they had noticed Layton recently had a large influx of cash.
In a post-Miranda interview with police, Smith admitted he had taken some cattle from Brach and sold them at the Ash Flat Livestock Auction. He denied taking cattle from a separate farm of Brach’s or taking Leslie’s cattle. Smith admitted to police he had gone to two properties belonging to Leslie to steal cattle.
An April 29 video from the Ozarks Regional Stockyard in West Plains, Mo., revealed Smith unloading five of Brach Hill’s cattle, and a May 24 video at the Ash Flat Sale Barn showed Smith unloading four of Brach Hill’s cattle.
The cattle were valued at over $18,000.
Bond was set for Smith at $15,000 in Fulton County Circuit Court.
