Former Sallisaw Police Officer, Accused Cattle Rustler, Arrested For Reporting False Shooting

NewOn6.com

SALLISAW, Oklahoma -- A former Sallisaw police officer who told police he was shot by the man he's accused of stealing cattle from was arrested Thursday, the OSBI said.

Wendall Hughes was arrested at his home about four miles northeast of Sallisaw.

He is charged with intimidating a witness, offering false evidence, and false reporting of a crime.

Hughes told Sallisaw police that 40-year-old Mark Sweeney shot him Monday February 21, 2011, while he was driving on Highway 64.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation later determined Hughes accidentally shot himself and blamed Sweeney.

Sweeney was arrested but later released.

2/22/2011 Related Story: OSBI: Sallisaw Police Officer Shot Himself, Blamed Accuser

Hughes is accused of stealing 178 cattle from Sweeney. He pled not guilty to 31 counts of cattle rustling in January.

Hughes was fired from the department on Tuesday, February 22, 2011.