United States-Man shoots 10 cattle in a field.

UNITED STATES-MAN SHOOTS CATTLE IN FIELD.

Charges have been filed against a Herriman man who shot 10 cows grazing on Bureau of Land Management property in Skull Valley last year.

In April 2008, cattle rancher Martin Anderson reported finding six cows and a calf dead on land he leased from the government. Three other cows had to be put down because of the severity of their wounds. All of the animals had been shot through the head, torso, shoulders or hips multiple times with a .223-caliber rifle.

The shooting outraged the Humane Society of Utah, state and local farm bureaus, the Utah Cattlemen’s Association, and the Tooele County Commission — all of which jointly offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who could provide information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of whoever was involved.

Tooele County Sheriff Frank Park said the subsequent seven-plus-month investigation brought in a few leads, but never anything substantial enough for an arrest. Then, in December, Anderson received a surprising phone call from Weston Redd Kress, 22, who apologized profusely for the shootings and offered to send the rancher a $10,000 check to cover the loss.

Anderson later passed on information regarding the shootings to the Sheriff’s Office, which conducted an in-office interview with Kress. During the interview, Kress confessed openly to the shootings, according to Tooele County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Johnson.

Kress, formerly of West Jordan, told investigators he had come to Skull Valley alone with a rifle and two handguns to practice target shooting. Johnson said Kress couldn’t provide a good excuse about why he shot the cows, but seemed very remorseful.

After the shooting, Kress moved to Ohio to try and escape his guilt, according to Johnson, but later returned to face the repercussions.

Anderson told the Sheriff’s Office he was satisfied with the restitution check and didn’t feel it necessary to file criminal charges against Kress. The same feelings were felt, in part, by Tooele County Commissioner Jerry Hurst, who feared that criminal charges might stop other remorseful wrongdoers from turning themselves in. He did feel, however, that the county should receive restitution money to compensate it for the lengthy investigation.

On Feb. 19, however, the county filed second-degree felony criminal mischief charges against Kress in 3rd District Court.

"We charged it as felony criminal mischief because of the dollar amount entailed," said Tooele County Attorney Doug Hogan. "We felt that was an appropriate charge to bring."

A second-degree felony carries the possibility of a one- to 15-year prison sentence. Because the defendant turned himself in and mailed restitution, however, Hogan expects the case will be resolved with leniency.

"He wasn’t caught and begrudgingly brought in," Hogan said. "He willingly came clean. I would anticipate crafting something that wouldn’t leave the guy a felon."

Hogan said a plea deal could factor in anything from a reduction in sentence to a diversion — similar to a plea in abeyance, except for a plea is never entered and charges could be completely dismissed if the defendant fulfills certain conditions ordered by the court.

Kress is scheduled to make his first appearance in court on March 24.