Released by the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office —-
PONCE DE LEON – A calf is back with its owner, and a Westville man is facing multiple charges following the theft of a calf.
A deputy with the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a theft on Oak Grove Road the morning of Sunday, March 10 and made contact with a cattle company employee, who stated someone had stolen a calf from his employer’s pasture.
Further investigation led the deputy to the Stewart Circle residence of 41-year-old Stephen J. Grecco (shown at right) in Westville, where the calf was found tied to the front steps of the mobile home.
When the deputy made contact with Grecco’s wife, she advised her children had simply found the calf in their living room earlier that morning and had taken it outside to be tethered. The deputy located Grecco sleeping in a living room chair and escorted him outside where he could be interviewed.
Grecco, whose jeans and boots were smeared with cow manure, stated he found the calf walking down the road and did not know it belonged to anyone.
Based on footprints at the scene and other evidence, Grecco was arrested for and charged with grand theft of a farm animal.
During the course of the interaction, dispatch advised Grecco’s wife had an active injunction against him, resulting in an additional charge of violation of a court injunction.