Horse Thieves Rustled Off ToPrison

CORTEZ, Colo. - (07/17/06) – A mom-and-daughter team whorobbed Southwest Colorado FCU last year were rustled off to jail onFriday. Donja Vaughn and her 62-year-old mother, Sharon Vaughn,were sentenced to three years and 12 years in prison for stealinghorses in Kansas and Utah while they were in the horse-breedingbusiness. “This case indicates that Colorado still takeshorse thieves very seriously,” said state Attorney GeneralJohn Suthers after the sentencing. The mother-and-daughter banditsare scheduled to be sentenced later this summer for the May 2005robbery of $105,000 from the credit union. Mother and daughter werearrested after police searched their apartment and discovered morethan $40,000 in credit union loot hidden there. They first becamesuspects when Sharon Vaughn tried to pay her back rent with $20,000in $20 bills stolen from the credit union. The two women triedunsuccessfully to commit suicide after they learned police were onto them.