Ex-BLM employee gets probation in cattle rustling case

A former range technician for the Bureau of Land Management in Elko has been sentenced to two years probation for cattle rustling.

An Elko County District Court jury convicted Tom Frederick Eldridge, 67, Elko, of grand larceny of livestock in December after he was caught stealing cattle in March 2007.

Eldridge, who worked for the BLM's Elko district from 1992-2006, had no prior criminal history. He was arrested after a ranch employee saw Eldridge's truck drive off from a grazing area with a calf in it. The employee followed the truck and saw Eldridge drop off the calf in sagebrush.