EDINBURG — Law enforcement authorities arrested a man for the theft of 232 head of cattle last Friday, the latest in the string of legal and financial problems for the suspect that read like they were lifted from the pages of some kind of modern Western dime novel.
Phillip Drake, 38, was charged with stealing cattle valued between $30,000 and $150,000, a class three felony.
Drake was released from the Hidalgo County jail Monday on a $30,000 bond.
Last week’s arrest wasn’t the first time Drake’s been accused of cattle theft. He was arrested in Starr County in 2019 on allegations of stealing a significantly smaller number of cattle.
That arrest also wasn’t his only recent involvement with law enforcement. Authorities confirmed Thursday that Drake was the man who reported being assaulted and tied to a chair at a property just off 281 on East FM 490 last month.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office responded to that incident with its major crimes unit, but Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra said Friday that the investigation into that assault has been closed due to Drake declining to cooperate with investigators — that is, if any assault occurred at all.
“The allegations that Mr. Drake made were unfounded,” Guerra said.
Allegations law enforcement are treating as much more founded relate to the theft of that 232 head herd of cattle Drake was arrested for last Friday.
Documents related to that arrest allege Salvador Garza III met with Drake late last year and the pair hatched a business plan in which Garza would bankroll the purchase of a herd of cows, and Drake would buy them, feed them and later sell them for a profit.
According to a criminal complaint, in November 2020, Garza gave Drake a cashier’s check for $22,550 to pay for about 41 head of cattle. The next month, in San Juan, Garza gave him $41,400 to pay for about 51 head of Hereford cattle.
The men met another time the next month in Mission, where Garza handed over a cashier’s check to Drake for a cool $84,000. That money was intended to pay for 140 head of cattle, the complaint read.
On the surface, documents describe the enterprise proceeded as planned. Drake took Garza and his brother out to that property on FM 490, showing his business partner the cows he claimed were purchased with his money and explaining to Garza that the cattle were identifiable via ear tags.
Eventually, in March, Garza began having his suspicions about Drake and the cattle enterprise.
Garza started asking questions, and Drake started providing excuses, the complaint read. Eventually Garza demanded Drake either hand over the cows or the money.
Drake appeared to opt for the second option, four checks in June totaling tens of thousands of dollars more than the $147,950 Garza had given Drake to buy cows.
The documents describe what seems like a heck of a deal at first — Garza had his investment back and a tidy profit.
That deal turned out to be too good to be true. The checks were from closed accounts and Garza hasn’t seen a cent of the money.
He hasn’t seen hide or hair of the herd he bankrolled either.
Financial and health problems seem to have beset Drake during that cattle enterprise.
A civil suit filed by Drake’s business, P-N Cattle & Hay Company LLC, alleges the company purchased a $58,000 2020 Dodge Ram Chassis, which was later repossessed.
The suit claims Drake had trouble paying for that truck because he suffered a stroke not long after purchasing it.
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Special Ranger Joe Aguilar Jr., the man who investigated the cattle theft, says neighbors near Drake’s property have reported having not seen any cattle there for some time.
“So that’s when we kind of knew that there’s a good chance that these cattle don’t exist anymore, and of course that’s when we filed the charges,” he said.
Even if that herd exists, it may be difficult to track down. The cattle aren’t branded and ear tags are removable.
“They’re going to be very difficult to identify in this specific case, because they were only ear tagged and they were not branded,” Aguilar said. “And ear tags — if anybody knows about ear tags, they’re very easy to take off.”
Aguilar has more hope for a case he’s investigating involving missing Charbray cattle from Floresville that are branded. He said that incident in September when Drake claimed he was tied up and assaulted may be tied to that case.
“All I know is it’s a very, very questionable situation,” he said.
Aguilar first investigated Drake for the theft of 10 cattle in 2019.
In that incident, Drake was charged with stealing 11 head of cattle.
According to documents, authorities began investigating that theft after Triple G Livestock Auction in Rio Grande City reported that Drake had purchased the cattle and failed to pay for them, despite repeatedly claiming that he’d wired over $5,000 to pay for the animals.
Aguilar says there are likely other missing cattle in the area related to Drake’s business dealings and describes the man as a “con artist.”
“We can positively say that,” he said.
Anyone with information on the stolen cattle can report it to the TSCRA at (956) 513-0297.
