Larimer County man to pay more than $30,000 in damages after killing neighbors’ cattle
Michael Hester, a 37-year-old man from Larimer County, will spend 24 days in jail, three years on supervised probation and 240 hours working community service, according to court records.
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A man who took a deal and pleaded guilty last year to killing his neighbors’ cattle in Larimer County, causing over $30,000 in losses, was sentenced Friday to less than a month in jail.
Larimer County District Court Judge Stephen Jouard sentenced Michael Hester, a 37-year-old man from Larimer County, to 24 days in jail, three years on supervised probation and 240 hours working community service, according to court records.
That ruling may be slated to change, as Hester is scheduled to appear again in court on Feb. 14 for a resentencing hearing.
The 37-year-old took a deal and pleaded guilty in November to six felonies, including three counts of aggravated animal cruelty and three counts of animal theft, court records show. The plea deal dropped a dozen additional charges, including aggravated animal cruelty, animal theft, shooting from a public road and felony trespassing, from Hester’s case.
During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Jouard also ordered Hester to pay $30,734 in restitution, victim compensation funds and other fees, according to court records.
Hester was arrested in April 2024 after his neighbors reported him to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office for shooting their cattle while driving by on a utility task vehicle, also known as a side-by-side.
When deputies arrived on Hester’s land, they found seven dead cattle belonging to two of Hester’s neighbors and a critically injured eighth cow that had to be euthanized.
Under Colorado law, livestock owners are not required to fence their livestock in. If landowners want to keep livestock off their property, they have to build their own fences to keep the animals out.
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