As part of an ongoing investigation by the Mississippi Agriculture and Livestock Theft Bureau, a Pearl River County man was arrested for the alleged neglect of over 100 cattle.

Robert Leroy Brown, 47, of 2178 Bouie Rd., Carriere was arrested April 26 for 105 counts of failure of owner or custodial to provide sustenance to creatures other than dogs or cats by the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department on behalf of the Mississippi Agriculture and Livestock Theft Bureau, according to arrest records.

Brown allegedly misled the owner of the farm, George Haynes, to believe that the cattle were in good condition, State Director of the Mississippi Agriculture and Livestock Theft Bureau Barry Coward said.

Brown was hired as a foreman to oversee the hundreds of cattle at the farm, located at 603 Ozborn Moody Road in Poplarville, Coward said.

Brown’s charges are misdemeanors, Coward said.

“The state law on this right now says it doesn’t matter if it’s one case or 100, each one is a misdemeanor,” he said.

Normally the Bureau only investigates felonies, however, Coward said the Bureau was made aware of the case when Haynes asked for assistance to file an affidavit in the Pearl River County Justice Court.

While a few livestock deaths every year is normal on a cattle farm, Coward said there was a higher number of carcasses found, even for a farm with several hundred heads of cattle.

Charges were only pressed for the cattle that died or were in dire conditions, he said.

The Bureau is continuing the investigation to determine if any other illegal activity occurred on the farm involving Brown, Coward said.

Anyone with information regarding said actions is asked to call Diane James at Crime Stoppers at 601-582-7867. Information leading to an arrest could result in a cash reward.