Christopher Stephen jailed for stealing herd of cattle worth nearly $100,000

A man trying to help pay his debts managed to move 54 head of cattle from a sprawling property in the Southern Highlands to a paddock 118km away before he was caught out.

A Mittagong man has been jailed for stealing a herd of cattle worth nearly $100,000 from the property he managed in order to cover a large debt.

Christopher Stephen, 62, appeared in Moss Vale Local Court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to stealing cattle, intimidation and possessing ammunition without a licence.

The Mittagong man was renting a home on the 150-acre property in Mittagong which he had been “caretaking” for the past 15 years, the court heard.

At the time of the offence, 54 cattle were on agistment on the property where Stephen lived. Police estimate the herd, which includes Angus, Hereford, Murray Grey and Santa Gertrudis heifers, was worth approximately $95,000.

Christopher Stephen stole 54 cows from a Mittagong property where he was living. Picture: NSW Police

The court heard Stephen’s role on the Mittagong property did not include any involvement with the livestock. Despite that, police facts show Stephen decided to pose as the owner to transport and sell the cattle to pay off his debt.

Police facts show he mustered the cattle into yards on Saturday May 15 and helped a livestock transporter load the first group of cattle onto a truck.

Stephen saidd he was the person in charge of the cattle and signed the National Vendor Declaration form for the cattle to be taken to a property in Sydney’s north west, according to court documents.

Over the next two days, police facts show the truck made two more trips to collect the cattle from Mittagong and take them to Vineyard.

When the owner arrived to move his cattle on Tuesday morning, he couldn’t find them anywhere on the Mittagong property. After searching for hours, police facts show he inspected the cattle yards and saw the telltale signs the cattle had been recently loaded onto transport.

Rural Crime Prevention Team officers identifying the stolen cattle by their ear tags. Picture: NSW Police

The cattle were located and recovered on a property at Vineyard, near Windsor, on the same day they were reported stolen. Investigators from the Rural Crime Prevention Team examined all 54 cattle and identified them through their ear tags as the stolen cattle.

Police arrived at the Mittagong property to find Stephen, who admitted he had been involved in removing the cattle. He told police he was forced to steal the cattle because he owed $20,000 to an unknown person. Police state in the facts they believe the debt is drug-related.

The cattle heist happened only a couple of weeks after Stephen was charged with intimidating an employee at an Optus store in Mittagong. The court heard the Mittagong man was “an aggrieved customer” who was “upset with the situation” when he threatened to harm the woman on April 27.

Court documents reveal Stephen demanded the employee print out his account details after claiming there were extra handsets on his phone bill. After she did so, police facts show the woman asked Stephen to leave, which he refused to do before he was then escorted out of the store screaming threats like “I’m gonna (sic) end her”.

Rural Crime Prevention officers identifying the stolen cattle by their individual identification tags. Picture: NSW Police

He was arrested for intimidation on April 30 at which time police searched his house and found ammunition lying around.

Stephen told police there were “bullets all through this house” despite his lack of a firearm or licence.

Stephen’s lawyer Brian Hanrahan argued his client’s offending did not warrant a lengthy sentence, referring to the cattle theft in particular as “very amateurish”.

“Nothing was gained by his involvement (in the theft),” he said.

Magistrate Mark Douglass agreed the time Stephen has already spent in custody should deter him from future offending. He convicted Stephen to an 18-month community corrections order and ordered him to participate in mental health treatment and to abstain from drugs or alcohol.

Magistrate Douglass also ordered Stephen to pay $1160 in compensation to the owner of the cattle, as well as $3098 to Hume Police District for the care and transport of the livestock after the theft.