Sheriff’s Office identifies man suspected of killing pregnant cows on Arizona Strip

Mohave County Sheriff's Office patrol vehicle, date and location not specified | Photo courtesy of the Mohave County Sheriff's Office, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — An anonymous tip has helped authorities identify a man suspected of shooting two pregnant cows found dead on the Arizona Strip late last year.

Two Black Angus cows are found dead after being shot in Mohave County, Ariz., Dec. 22, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Natalie Larsen, St. George News

On Thursday, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as 18-year-old Briggs Roberts, who admitted to shooting the two cows during an interview with police, according to a statement posted on the agency’s Facebook page. Roberts was identified after deputies received an anonymous tip providing a name and vehicle description.

The cows died from apparent gunshot wounds to the neck area while grazing in a rural area on the Arizona Strip.

The two Black Angus cows were found Dec. 22, 2018, lying next to each other approximately 50 yards from Interstate 15 near the Black Rock Exit, north of the entrance to the Virgin River Gorge. Coleman Stillman was in the area checking on his animals when he came across the pair, which he said were “within days of calving.”

Read more: 2 pregnant cows shot, killed near Arizona Strip

Criminal charges have been submitted to the Mohave County Attorney’s Office for one felony count of killing the livestock of another and one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals.

Mohave County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Anita Mortensen told St. George News the charges are currently under review and Roberts has yet to be arrested.

“We would like to thank the community for their assistance in resolving this case,” the Sheriff’s Office said in the statement posted to social media. “The anonymous tip received led to the identification and eventual confession of Briggs Roberts.”

This report is based on statements from police and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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