Man arrested on hay and cash theft

SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler man has been taken into custody following an investigation that uncovered the theft of over $96,000 in hay and connected revenue. According to our news partner KETK, in February, Brandon Wiginton was arrested on charges of misapplication of fiduciary property and two counts of theft. He was subsequently booked into the Smith County Jail.

The investigation began in August 2022, initiated by the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association after they received a report about a business partnership that allegedly led to the theft of hay and revenue. The offenses were found to have occurred in Cherokee County and Smith County.

According to information from Smith County officials, the hay owner claims he had a verbal agreement with Wiginton regarding the baling of hay, promoting sales and collecting funds. The agreement was that the owner either owned or leased the hay-producing properties and covered the costs of fertilizer and related expenses. For more than a year, the business agreement went as planned in Cherokee County and Smith County.

In August 2022, the owner filed a complaint after saying he had received no funds from the agreement, despite Wiginton selling the hay. By September 2022, Wiginton admitted to not paying the owner any portion of the hay sale funds he had collected. A grand jury in Cherokee County indicted Brandon Wiginton for theft of property, with an alternative indictment for misapplication of fiduciary property. Arrest warrants for similar charges were also issued in Smith County.