Investigators say they worked with multiple agencies to conduct a thorough investigation and arrest the suspect in Lake Jackson.
The sheriff's office says this arrest stemmed from thefts in multiple counties, and stealing livestock is something a former prosecutor in Waller County said is taken very seriously across Texas.
"There's no faster way to find an unfriendly Texan than to steal somebody's livestock," Warren Diepraam, a former Waller County prosecutor, said. "Depending on the value of livestock, you can get to first degree felony pretty fast, where you're looking at life in prison, in fact Texas took it so seriously, that just up until recently their was a death penalty crime in Texas took steal livestock, obviously that's unconstitutional now and it's not the law, but that's just a reflection of how seriously people take stealing livestock in Texas."
For Smith Sr., Waller County court records also show multiple prior charges this past March for cruelty to a livestock animal.
"It's certainly a concern when you see somebody who is stealing livestock; obviously, they, as a general rule, don't really care about the livestock; it's all about the money, so these animals are typically mistreated. It's no surprise that somebody who steals livestock is also committing cruelty to animals," Diepraam said.
The sheriff's office said they worked with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association special rangers and that their investigation is still ongoing.
Smith Sr. is now booked into the Waller County Jail.