Hearing reset for Orange man accused of gunning down cattle

Two cows graze in a south Vidor field Monday where 15 cows were shot and killed earlier that morning. The Orange County Sheriff Office is investigating the incident. Photo taken Monday, April 15, 2013 Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less Two cows graze in a south Vidor field Monday where 15 cows were shot and killed earlier that morning. The Orange County Sheriff Office is investigating the incident. Photo taken Monday, April 15, 2013 ... more Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Hearing reset for Orange man accused of gunning down cattle 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The plea announcement expected Friday from an Orange County man accused of shooting more than a dozen cows to death has been reset, court officials said this afternoon. Darrwin Walles was on the docket to make an announcement in Judge Courtney Arkeen's court this morning, but that date was reset for next month.

Walles, 48, of Orange, was indicted earlier this year for his role in gunning down 15 cattle on a relative's property in mid-April. He faces a felony charge of cruelty to livestock animals and criminal mischief, according to court records.

A county road and bridge employee noticed the field full of cows the morning of April 15. A livestock agent was called to check on the animals, who the county employee thought might be sick, when it was discovered the animals had been shot to death, said Sgt. Roman Zelgowski, the sheriff's office's lead investigator in the case.

He said authorities tracked Walles down as the suspect in the case based on feed bags left behind at the scene of the crime - a rural piece of property in the 14000 block of Mansfield Ferry Road in south Vidor.

The feed was apparently used to lure the animals to the edge of the property, where Walles opened fire on the animals using two .45-caliber handguns and a 30-30 rifle, Zelgowski said. He estimated at least 50 rounds were fired.

Some of the animals were killed near the edge of the property, but the shooting didn't end there, the sergeant said.

"You could tell on the scene that he had to chase some of them down," he said Thursday.

Authorities were able to pull lot numbers off the feed bags and trace them back to a Beaumont store, where they said they found video surveillance of Walles purchasing the feed, he said.

Walles' actions might have been spurred by a rift between him and the property owner over family money and resources.

According to court records, Walles was arrested on a grand jury indictment handed down in August and was incarcerated on a $15,000 bond.

Documents list attorney Steve Carlton as Walles' attorney.

TMonzingo@BeaumontEnteprise.com Twitter.com/thmonzingo