Luna County Sheriff’s Deputy Antonio Maravilla said 27-year-old David Remondini and 31-year-old Arturo Contreras were charged with larceny, receiving stolen property and conspiracy. Remondini also had a Magistrate and a Municipal warrant – both for failure to pay fines.
Maravilla said the two had sold the cattle guard for scrap metal to a local scrapping yard for just over $100.
The cattle guard, reported stolen a few days earlier from the intersection of Brazil and County Road 16, was valued at $1,800.
A cattle guard is defined as a metal grid covering a ditch which allows vehicles and pedestrians to pass over the ditch, but not cattle or other animals.