Cattle rustler convicted in WillCo

WILLIAMSON COUNTY (KXAN) - A Williamson County judge found a man guilty of the largest cattle theft in county history.

Monte Sharp, 45, of Oklahoma was convicted for stealing more than 1,000 head of cattle from Capitol Land and Cattle Company .

Sharp was arrested in October of 2005.

Prosecutors say Sharp was supposed to be caring for the cattle, but instead was stealing the herd and selling cattle for profit. The cattle were valued at nearly $700,000. Investigators say Sharp had done this before to victims as far away as North Carolina.

Prosecutors rested their case at the end of October, but the defense didn’t present its case until early November. The delay was due to Sharp filing bankruptcy after his arrest. At the victim's request, the case had been suspended until the bankruptcy case was concluded, allowing the victim to recover some of the money lost in the theft. That bankruptcy was only recently concluded.

Sharp waived his right to a jury trial. He will be sentenced in December.