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TOOELE COUNTY -- The man who turned himself in for shooting several cows last year in Skull Valley has now been charged with 2nd degree felony mischief.
Weston Redd Kress, 22, of Herriman and West Jordan shot the cows near Lone Rock in the Skull Valley area of Tooele County.
Cattle rancher Martin Anderson, who owned the cows, said nine cows and a calf were killed after they all had been shot with a .223-caliber rifle.
At the time, the Tooele County Sheriff's Office, the Humane Society of Utah, the Utah Cattlemen's Association, and various farm bureau's put out a reward for information into the shootings.
Kress said he saw the coverage of the shootings and moved to Ohio to get away from his guilt.
However, he couldn't live with the guilt and turned himself in to Tooele County investigators this past December. He also called and apologized to Anderson, and wrote him a check for $10,000 to cover his losses.
Tooele County Sgt. Ron Johnson says Kress admitted to the shootings, but didn't have a good reason why he shot the animals. Kress said he had planned to just do some target shooting, but instead decided to shoot the cattle.
Anderson told investigators he didn't think charges should be filed against Kress, since he turned himself in. In an interview with KSL, Sgt. Johnson praised Kress for "doing the right thing," but said charges would be up to the Tooele County Attorney's Office.
County prosecutors decided to file the charge because of the dollar amount of the cows, and because of the long investigation.
However, Tooele County attorney Doug Hogan admits the case will most likely be "resolved with leniency" because Kress turned himself in and has been very cooperative.
Normally, a 2nd degree felony mischief charge brings the possibility of one to 15 years in prison.
Kress is expected in court March 24th.
It is possible the charge will be completely dismissed.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
