Man accused of drunkenly shooting, butchering cow in snowy field

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man is in the Randolph County Jail after he allegedly shot and butchered a cow in a Randolph County field on Feb. 20.

Bryndon Wayne Jennings, 19, of Jacksonville, Missouri, was charged on Thursday with stealing livestock and first-degree property damage. He is being held at the Randolph County Jail on a $10,000 bond, according to online jail records. A court date has not been set.

According to the probable cause statement, deputies went to an address in Jacksonville, Missouri, on Feb. 20, where a man said one of his cows was shot and butchered in a field.

The cow was pregnant and was about two weeks away from giving birth, according to the statement. The loss was estimated at $4,000, according to court documents. The statement says that tire tracks were seen in the snow.

Law enforcement spoke with Jennings on Thursday, who allegedly admitted to shooting the cow with his friends while he was drunk, the statement says. He claimed that he was hunting coyotes on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20 while he was drunk, the statement says. Jennings was allegedly passed out in the backseat of a vehicle, and woke up when one of his friends claimed they saw a coyote, the statement says.

Jennings allegedly told law enforcement that he shot a rifle about three or four times from the drive side of the vehicle. When he and his friends got out of the vehicle, they found the dead cow, butchered it and brought the meat into the vehicle, the statement says. Jennings allegedly told deputies that he was not sure where the meat went.

The probable cause statement says that Jennings told deputies that he had previously joked with friends about killing cows in a similar fashion.