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Police: Man Stole Up To 18 Cows To Settle Debt With Farmer

TIVERTON, R.I. (CBS) – A farmer has been charged with stealing as many as 18 cows from another farmer who owed him money.

Forty-one-year-old Ledyard Lewis of North Stonington, Connecticut turned himself into police in Tiverton, Rhode Island last Friday.

He was wanted for taking the cows from the High View Farm March 15.

Lewis had sold feedstock to the farm's owner and claimed he was never paid.

So he took matters into his own hands and took the farmer's cows, police said.

He's charged with larceny over $500, which is a felony, and a misdemeanor - theft of animals.

Lewis was arraigned and released on $10,000 bail.

The High View Farm doesn't have its cows back yet.

Because they were taken over state lines, they've been quarantined.

They'll be returned once they're tested and examined by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.

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