Loving County Judge Skeet Jones, the scion of a powerful ranching family, was arrested after a yearlong investigation that is ongoing, authorities said.
Highlights
- Judge Skeet Jones, 71, is facing three felony counts of livestock theft and one count of engaging in criminal activity.
- He is accused of gathering up and selling stray cattle in Loving County, Texas.
- The county has no school, no church, no grocery store and no bank, population 57 as of the last U.S.
- Census Bureau estimate.
- A handful of prominent families have feuded bitterly for control of the local government, with the Joneses largely coming out ahead.
- But some recently elected county officials have been butting heads with Joneses and their allies, making for colorful commissioner’s court meetings and a much-anticipated November election.