A man from West Virginia was arrested after he allegedly switched tags on a prized piece of bacon at a youth farming competition. The incident happened at a show in Ripley, West Virginia, and it involved a dispute over the top bacon prize.
Cody J. Lucey, from Glen Easton, was caught on camera allegedly switching tags between his child’s bacon and another student’s Grand Champion bacon, according to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.
The situation started when Principal Wyatt O’Neil of Cameron High School got a complaint about the Grand Champion bacon being sold by one student, only to later find out it had been sold by another. The incident took place during the West Virginia FFA State Ham, Bacon, and Egg show and sale on March 10 at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley.
According to the complaint, Student A’s Grand Champion bacon was sold at a Marshall County Sale on March 4 for $935.28, and the bacon was then sent back to the school for cutting. However, an agriculture teacher noticed two pieces of bacon that had been incorrectly tagged. Both pieces came from the same side of the hog.
An investigation revealed that on March 7, Lucey was seen on surveillance video taking the Grand Champion bacon from the sold box and moving it to another table. He removed the original tag from the bacon, took a new tag from the meat lab, and attached it to the bacon after making a hole. Lucey then returned the swapped bacon to the box and tagged Student A’s bacon with a new tag for Student B.
As a result, Student B entered the swapped bacon into the competition and won the Grand Champion title. This bacon was later sold at the auction for $2,100.
Lucey is now facing felony charges for obtaining money, property, and services by false pretenses, as well as petit larceny, according to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.
