LITTLE ROCK — A member of Southern Arkansas University’s rodeo team was arrested Monday and charged in connection with the theft last month of five horses and other equipment from Mulerider Stables on the university campus, school officials said.
State police arrested Jaci Rae Jackson, 18, of McCurtain County, Okla., during a traffic stop on U.S. 82 just west of Magnolia on U.S. Highway 82, SAU spokesman Jeremy Langley said.
Jackson, identified by Arkansas State Police Investigator Hays McWhirter as a member of the university’s rodeo team, was being held at Columbia County Detention Facility.
She was charged with six counts of theft, three Class B felonies, for property over $25,000 and three Class C felonies, for property between $5,000 and $25,000, the university said.
The university held a news conference Monday afternoon to announce the arrest.
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Jackson also faces three felony charges out of Oklahoma, including bringing stolen property into the state, knowingly concealing stolen property and cruelty to animals.
Langley said the investigation in Arkansas continues and more arrests are expected.
During the afternoon news conference, SAU Police Chief Eric Plummer said “other suspects are known to be involved.”
“We will work this case until everyone is brought to justice,” he said.
Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office in McCurtain County, Okla., has issued warrants for the arrests of two locals “for crimes related to this on their end,” Langley said.
“They’re not releasing who those individuals are right now because they’re still looking for them,” he said.
The five rodeo horses and equipment were found stolen from stables at SAU on Nov. 2. Four of the horses were found malnourished in Southwest Oklahoma on Nov. 15. The remains of the fifth horse, “Credit Card,” were found Nov. 25.
The 15-year-old sorrel gelding, owned by SAU rodeo team member Shaun Smith, was buried last week in Emmett on the property of Smith’s family.