Roundup continues as officials search for remaining cows

Snow has hampered the search for the remains of a cattle herd authorities claim have been starved, while more live cows are being cared for.

Meanwhile, the man sheriff's officials say is responsible for the dead animals is free on bonds totalling over $1 million and new autopsy results have confirmed the cause of death to be starvation.

John Darron Thomas, 43, of Clyde Gleaves Road is facing an unknown number of animal cruelty counts, not disposing of the animal remains properly and three counts of animals running at large.

Thomas posted bonds late Friday totaling $1,079,500.

How many cows?

According to Bedford County Sheriff Randall Boyce, the final number of cruelty counts against Thomas will depend on how many starved and dead cattle they ultimately discover.

Boyce said if a cow is found to have a normal body weight, Thomas won't face charges for the condition of the animal.

"We don't know how many counts there will be until all of them (the cattle) are found," Boyce said

So far, the remains of around 130 cows have been found on Thomas' property and the sheriff believes that count will climb even higher.

"We are finding more everywhere," Boyce said, explaining that the recent snowfall has hidden the carcasses from sight over the past two days.

As of Tuesday, about 500 head had been gathered and they are currently being fed and cared for, but some of the herd, numbering close to 100, are still roaming on the property and Boyce said they are in the process of getting them penned up.

Boyce said that the remaining herd are "so wild, they get away from us."

The sheriff said his department have been getting help from the state, the Bedford County Humane Association, the Tennessee Farm Bureau and the Tennessee's Beef Producers.

Boyce said that it appeared that Thomas had simply stopped feeding the herd.

No bones

The sheriff also disputed a claim Thomas made on Monday about the remains found on his property.

Thomas told the Associated Press by phone that he knows of only 21 dead cattle, claiming that deputies are counting the bones of long-dead animals on the 1,600 acres where his family has raised cattle since the 1960s.

But the sheriff said that deputies have been discovering entire carcasses, not bones, with some of the remains found only being a month old at the most.

New autopsy reports have also been returned to authorities on the remains of 11 cows from the Thomas property that state they all died of starvation, Boyce said.

The sheriff said that all of the carcasses inspected by veterinarians were that of yearlings -- not older cows that would have died of natural causes.

Thomas claimed last week that his cows were shot after he filed a $6 million federal lawsuit against the county, the Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Boyce and Deputies Ben Burris, Kent Jacobs and Kevin Roddy.

He claims that he has been pulled over approximately 20 times with no convictions and that deputies have harassed and kidnapped him.

But Boyce also said Monday that none of the cattle they have examined had been shot as Thomas has claimed.

Thomas repeatedly denied last Wednesday that his cows had been starved, even when asked about the results of autopsies Thomas himself requested for the cattle, which stated the cows were severely dehydrated and emaciated.

The federal suit filed by Thomas claims that the county officers have conspired to arrest him and caused false imprisonment for retribution for his interfering with the relationship of Jacobs and his girlfriend.

Boyce explained Tuesday that Thomas has already been told to keep the cattle off the roads near his land or they would be taken from him.

During a three-hour preliminary hearing for Thomas on Friday, neighbor Randy Webb testified that he has called deputies 70 times over the past year about Thomas' cattle roaming in his yard.

He stated the cattle are hungry, "which is why they are there all the time," and have ruined his landscaping and damaged vehicles on his property.

Webb also said the cows are on his land "every day" and that Thomas has never denied ownership when he would retrieve them.

However, Thomas' attorney, Carla Ford of Murfreesboro, told the T-G on Friday that the cows in question did not belong to her client, but are owned by his father Claude Thomas, and that John is "helping to take care of them."

Thomas was bound over to the county grand jury on two counts of DUI, three counts of animals running at large, failure to appear, theft under $500 for allegedly shoplifting from Walmart and theft over $10,000 related to the alleged theft of lumber. The grand jury meets on Feb. 22.

He was placed on bonds totalling $79,500 and was released, but was ordered not to have any contact with potential witnesses in the case, many of which are his neighbors.

The $1 million dollar bond was later added for the charges related to the alleged cruelty.