Sperry Man Pleads Guilty To Stealing Livestock In Osage County

A Sperry man is back in prison after pleading guilty to stealing cattle. Investigators say Cody Porter has made a living from stealing livestock and selling it.

A victim from a previous case involving Porter says he got some of his stolen calves back, but investigators say Porter has impacted ranchers across the state.

Rancher Jim Perrier says he’s thankful every morning his cattle are still on his Osage County pasture.

"It's bad enough with the weather and the market, and then you have to put up with somebody like Cody Porter,” Jim said.

Porter pleaded guilty to hiding cattle after investigators say he stole from Jim and two other victims back in 2015.

He recently pleaded guilty to several Osage County cattle cases from 2018. Court records show he also pleaded guilty to a 2016 case in Johnston County.

Porter faces charges in a Logan County case too, where he's accused of stealing nearly 40 goats from Langston University.

"He's a nightmare to deal with in the agriculture world,” Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Special Ranger Bart Perrier said.

Related Story: Sperry Man Sentenced For Osage County Cattle Thefts 

Perrier has dealt with Porter for years. He says Porter only served 11 months on a 10-year sentence for the 2015 case involving Jim's cattle.

"It all comes down to prison overpopulation,” Bart said. “And I understand that. You have to incarcerate the violent offenders."

And when he got out, Perrier says, Porter went right back to his old ways. Porter recently pleaded guilty to several cases from last summer, after investigators say he and another man stole cattle in Osage County.

"They were stealing baby calves in the middle of the night, going through the pastures. They'd steal them and sell them,” Bart said.

Porter was sentenced to 10 years for that crime just last month.

"Leave him in prison. That's what I say,” Jim said.

Porter has another hearing coming up in a few weeks for his active Logan County case.