FALLS CITY – A Richardson County man convicted of illegally selling cattle has been sentenced to 40 months probation.

Jordan Marx, 38, apologized at a hearing Tuesday for taking his employer’s cattle and selling them in Kansas.

His attorney Dustin Garrison said the county attorney’s office, state probation and even the victim recommend a probation sentence.

Garrison: “ I don’t think we can sit here and say what Mr. Marx did was appropriate in any respect and Mr. Marx will tell you that what he did isn’t appropriate. In fact, before court, he said I made the biggest mistake of my life.”

 

 

The judge asked Marx about the $30,000 he paid in restitution prior to sentencing. Marx said he sold the cattle for less than that, but he recognized the problems he caused for the victim Brian Witt and said the restitution amount is fair.

Smith: “At the time you committed this offense you were using drugs, and therefore you were spending more money than you were making. You have apologized to Mr. Witt and you have acknowledged that this was the biggest mistake of your life.”

Court records say nine head were stolen in November and 10 head stolen in December of 2020.

Smith: “Because this is a very serious offense and I was considering sending you to prison for this. Mr. Witt, in his victim impact statement is asked what he thinks the court should do at sentencing and he indicates two options – either that he would like to see you pay the restitution in full and get probation or, in the alternative, he would like to see you serve a lengthy sentence of incarceration. You did pay the restitution in full, so the court will consider that in your favor.”

The judge also sentenced Marx to waivable jail time and victim mediation.