The owner of 13 dead cows found dumped off a Dallas County bridge has been arrested.

Law enforcement officials brought Ladique &uot;Ladd&uot; Brown, 53, into custody around 4:30 p.m. Friday. Brown was charged with one count of criminal littering and 13 counts of cruelty to animals. He received a $2,000 bond for all charges and made bond shortly after his arrest.

The 13 charges of cruelty to animals stem from the number of dead cows found. Dallas County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Randy Pugh raised the number of dead cows from 10 to 13 before Brown’s arrest. &uot;We ended up finding a few more downstream,&uot; Pugh said on Monday. &uot;We’re about to go out and check some more.&uot;

A representative of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Investigator Michael Granthum examined fields Brown is leasing in case other cows are dead or injured. &uot;What we’re concerned about now is what condition Brown’s other cows are in,&uot; Pugh said. &uot;We don’t want to leave a whole bunch of cows out there suffering.&uot;

According to Fourth Judicial Circuit District Attorney Ed Greene, he and Granthum worked together on Friday before the charges were issued. &uot;The criminal littering charge was simple, but the environmental issues were something we were unsure about,&uot; Greene said. &uot;We’ll be conferring with the county health office and environmental officer Larry Friday about any further environmental charges.&uot;

Brown is scheduled to appear before Dallas County District Court Judge Nathaniel Walker on Feb. 11. It’s expected Brown will enter a plea or have his case set for trial.

Brown’s arrest stems from Sgt. David Odom’s discovery of the cows Wednesday night.

Odom responded to a call from dispatch and upon arriving at the bridge on Kings Bend Road found the cows in the creek below.

Portions of Kings Bend Road were closed on Thursday. They were reopened, however, after Pugh’s office questioned Brown.

County workers removed the cows on Friday. They were brought to a landfill to be buried.

According to Pugh, the cows died due to worms and starvation.

State law requires the cows be burned or buried.