A Starr County man is accused of using cowboys, horses and ATVs to take cattle off a dead woman's ranch, then helping sell them at auction. That is according to a sworn complaint from a Texas cattle theft investigator.
Augustine Becerra, born in 2003, faces a felony theft charge and a trespassing charge. The theft charge covers stolen property worth less than $150,000, court records show. Special Ranger Joe Aguilar Jr. filed the complaint. Aguilar works for Texas DPS and is commissioned through the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, known as TSCRA.
The case is a modern twist on an old South Texas crime. Cattle rustling still happens in Starr County ranch country. This time, the trail was not just hoofprints. It was text messages, a map, and video from a game camera, according to the complaint.
The trouble started on a ranch tied to the estate of Ignacia Gutierrez. The ranch sits about 15 miles north of US Highway 83, on Loma Linda Road. On February 12, 2026, estate representative Iris Trevino called Special Ranger Aguilar. She said cattle had been taken off the ranch without permission.
A witness had already seen riders on horseback on the property. The witness also saw ATVs, trucks and trailers there. Nobody had asked to be on the ranch. A game camera caught the visits on video, the complaint says.
Investigators say a man named Arthur Flores hired cowboys to enter the ranch and catch stray cattle. Becerra was one of those cowboys. Flores told Becerra the cattle were on land he leased for hunting.
But the complaint says Flores had given Becerra a map. That map showed the real lines of the land Flores leased. It also showed a gate on Pipeline Road. Text messages between the two men show Becerra knew the land past that open gate was not part of Flores's lease, according to the complaint.
On October 22 and 23, 2025, Becerra and other cowboys caught three bulls on the estate ranch. They hauled the bulls to a barn, then to the Edinburg Livestock Auction in Hidalgo County. One bull died during the roundup, the complaint states. Flores got a check for $4,007.69 after the auction took its fees.
The men tried again several times after that. They failed to catch more cattle on those later trips. Several cattle died from exhaustion during the failed attempts, according to the complaint.
On January 31, 2026, about nine more head of cattle went through the Edinburg auction under Flores's name. Flores got a check for $10,286.45 after fees. Becerra got his own check for $2,700, for catching and hauling the cattle, the complaint states.
Flores admitted to investigators that he knew the cattle were not his, according to the complaint. He said he had sent Becerra the map showing his real property line. Becerra's own texts backed that up. Still, the complaint says Becerra did not pass that warning on to the other cowboys working for him.
The complaint also says Becerra let someone take down a right-of-way gate. That let trucks and equipment onto the estate ranch. Becerra knew that land was not part of Flores's lease, the complaint states.
Special Ranger Aguilar wrote that there is probable cause to charge Becerra with theft and trespassing. The complaint points to Becerra entering land he knew was not Flores's, allowing the gate to come down, and getting paid to catch cattle he had no right to catch.
A second trespassing charge covers a different date. On February 8, 2026, Becerra went onto the same disputed land again, the complaint says. Text messages from Flores again showed the ground did not belong to him. A fence clearly marked the property line, according to the complaint.
Cases like this are rare, but they are not new to South Texas ranch country. Starr County still runs on cattle, land, and trust between neighbors. When that trust breaks, losses can add up fast, and a single roundup can turn into a felony case.
Arthur Flores is separately accused of theft in the same investigation, as the man who arranged the roundups, according to the complaint. He is not charged in this story's case. His case is separate and is still being reviewed.
Becerra faces a third-degree felony theft charge and a Class B misdemeanor trespassing charge in Starr County. Both charges come from the sworn complaint filed by Special Ranger Aguilar. The case is now moving through the Starr County court system.
Becerra has not been convicted of any crime. Under the law, he is presumed innocent unless a court finds him guilty.
