Ag Investigators Arrest Serial Arsonist

Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry investigators yesterday arrested Stanley Wagner, 39, of Davenport, on four counts of third degree arson.

Investigators were contacted by Davenport Police Chief, Bill Sides, after a series of suspicious fires began earlier this month, said Col. Mike Grimes, ODAFF Chief Investigator. Davenport police had recovered an incendiary device and asked for assistance.

“Captain Jerry Flowers investigated and arrested Mr. Wagner after he admitted setting four fires,” Grimes said. “We are continuing to investigate to determine if he is responsible for other fires in the area.”

Investigators believe Wagner may have been setting fires for about a year.

Each charge carries a maximum of 15 years in prison.

All four fires were between Chandler and Davenport, Grimes said. No structures were lost but one fire was set near an active oil well and could have created serious problems had it caught on fire.

“That particular fire was set about 100 yards from the oil well and had the potential to be a very costly and potentially life-threatening fire,” Grimes said.

Arrest Made In Logan County Agricultural Equipment Thefts

Special agents of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry’s Investigative Services with the help of Logan and Canadian County sheriff departments arrested a man Friday for the theft of trailers, an ATV and other agricultural implements.

Col. Mike Grimes, Chief Investigator for the agency, said the thefts were reported about two weeks ago from commercial deer producer, Bob Moore of Logan County.

“Captain Jerry Flowers, working with Logan and Canadian County sheriff’s departments, investigated the case and a suspect was identified,” he said. “When Captain Flowers went to the residence of Damingo Rendon, he saw one of the trailers that had been reported stolen by Mr. Moore.”

After further investigation about $155,000 in stolen property was recovered. Grimes said Damingo Rendon was arrested Friday and is facing charges in both counties. Rendon is a convicted felon and could face up to 10 years on the charges.

Investigators with the National Insurance Crime Bureau also assisted in the case.

TWO ARRESTED ON STOLEN CATTLE CHARGES IN LINCOLN COUNTY

Special Agents from the Investigative Services Unit of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry arrested two suspects yesterday for multiple cattle thefts in Lincoln County. Special Agents from the Investigative Unit working with the Lincoln and Hughes County Sheriffs’ Offices arrested the suspects as they attempted to sell cattle which were stolen from a Lincoln County ranch Friday, October 1.

ODAFF agents and deputies from the Hughes County Sheriff’s Office arrested Angella Wallace and Charles Wallace for receiving and concealing stolen property, said Col. Mike Grimes, Chief Agent of the state agriculture department’s Investigative Services Unit. The suspects were attempting to sell the cattle at the Holdenville livestock market when the cattle were identified as having been stolen.

This is the third arrest in a short time frame of suspects believed to be involved in multiple thefts of cattle, he said. Special Agents continue to investigate to determine other thefts these subjects may have committed. Other recent arrests have involved subjects in Woodward, Jefferson and Love Counties.

“The evidence found so far in this investigation indicates these subjects have been stealing cattle for some time,” Grimes said.

Special Agent Captain Jerry Flowers, working with the Hughes County Undersheriff Doug Sipes, recovered the stolen cattle which were valued at $14,000. The cattle were branded, which assisted in the identification and recovery of the cattle.

Anyone with information regarding theft of livestock, agricultural equipment, trailers or other items are encouraged to contact their county sheriff department and the ODAFF Investigative Services Unit at (405) 522-6104.

Increased Cattle Theft Reported, ODAFF Agents Seek Help

An increase in cattle theft over the past 90 days has prompted Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry agents to ask for information from the public and help from other law enforcement agencies.

“We’ve received reports of 321 head of cattle stolen since March,” said ODAFF agent, Captain Jerry Flowers. “This activity has been especially active in northwest Oklahoma but it is occurring statewide.”

He said agents only have one vehicle description from a case in Woodward County. A ranch hand arrived just as the thieves were loading cattle.

“They jumped in the truck and took off without closing the trailer gate and the cattle jumped out,” Flowers said. “One of the suspects, a Hispanic male, fired a rifle at the ranch hand who returned fire with his own rifle. We think that either the truck or trailer probably has a bullet hole.”

The pickup was a red Chevrolet with chrome type wheels and was pulling a white Titan Gooseneck stock trailer with Kansas tags. He said anyone with information that might be helpful is encouraged to call local authorities or his office at (405) 522-6102.

Agents have recently arrested three suspects for cattle thefts in Kingfisher and McCurtain County but have many more cases without leads. Scott Dewald, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, said his organization will pay up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone stealing cattle from one of its members.

Flowers said ODAFF is asking county sheriff departments and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to assist by checking stock trailers moving at night or showing other suspicious behavior. Citizens are encouraged to watch and identify individuals hauling trailers that appear overloaded with cattle and using back roads.

He also offered the following tips for cattlemen: Keep pastures secure, lock your gates; Control access to keys or combinations to your locks on gates; Brand, ear tag or microchip cattle and horses. Make sure your brand is recorded with the Oklahoma Cattleman’s Association. Keep permanent records of all forms of ID; Photographs of animals showing distinctive markings are beneficial during recovery; Count cattle on a regular basis, the more delay in learning cattle are missing decreases the chance of recovery; Don’t build pens close to a roadway; Don’t feed in your pens; Don’t establish a routine when feeding. Vary the times you feed; Watch out for your neighbors, take down tag numbers of suspicious vehicles, report suspicious activities to law enforcement or neighbors.

ODAFF Investigators Make A Case Against Rural Crime

An investigation involving four Oklahoma law enforcement agencies has resulted in a total of 10 arrests involving stolen property and other crimes. Col. Mike Grimes, Director of the state agriculture department’s Investigative Services Unit, said the cooperation of the different agencies helped identify and apprehend the suspects.

Agencies involved included he Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; Canadian County Sheriff’s Office; Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; and the Cleveland County DA’s District 21 Task Force. Grimes said the Oklahoma City Police Department’s Santa Fe IMPACT Unit Tulsa Police Metro Fugitive Task Force helped locate and arrest the final two suspects earlier today.

The suspects are accused of targeting rural residences, barns and farms and stole primarily items such as four-wheel ATVs, vehicles, zero-turn mowers, tractors and trailers. The initial suspects were Julie Lawton, 22; Mark Palmer 34; and Mathew Shrum, 34. All three are Oklahoma City residents.

Seven more people were arrested with the assistance of the OCPD Santa Fe IMPACT Unit during the investigation. Grimes said a variety of charges including possession of stolen vehicles and methamphetamine were filed against the seven.

The crimes were spread over a wide area of central Oklahoma.

ODAFF Investigative Services Assists in Solving Animal Cruelty Case

Captain Jerry Flowers, ODAFF Investigative Services, called to inform us that he assisted the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department in solving a case of animal cruelty involving the shooting deaths of 12 head of cattle and the death of one bull that was killed after being struck by a vehicle in a pasture.

Shane Smith, 34, of Orlando and Kansas resident, Shelby Morris, 24, were arrested after the joint efforts of ODAFF Investigative Services and the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department. The cattle were reportedly killed on November 28. The men admitted their actions and told authorities they were under the influence of alcohol while illegally hunting deer at night.

When they did not find any deer, the men told law officers they shot the cattle. Captain Flowers reports they were booked on 13 counts of animal cruelty.

STRAY LIVESTOCK MUST BE REPORTED TO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

When it comes to stray livestock there is no such thing as “finders, keepers.”

Col. Mike Grimes, head of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture’s Investigative Services division is reminding Oklahomans that state law requires anyone who finds stray livestock is required to notify the county sheriff’s department within seven days. Waiting longer than that could result in being charged with larceny.

“The law is very clear that anyone who finds livestock is responsible for contacting the sheriff’s office,” he said. “They can claim reimbursement for the cost of caring for the animals but they cannot keep or sell the animals. That would amount to theft and could result in charges being filed.”

Several instances have been noted recently of people improperly concealing or selling livestock that did not belong to them, Grimes said. At least three of these cases have resulted in charges being filed.

“The maximum penalty is seven years in the state penitentiary,” he notes. “The bottom line is that if you find stray livestock, don’t try to keep it or sell it. Be safe and report it right away.”

Latest Marijuana Find Valued at $6 Million

Irrigation Pump Carrying Water to Illegal Plants

This press release came from the Pushmataha County Sheriff’s Office today.

An Oklahoma Department of Agriculture agent discovered another large crop of marijuana during a follow-up to the 20,000 plant find by Pushmataha County Sheriff’s deputies on July 20.

According to Pushmataha County Undersheriff Jeremy Jones, agriculture agents in the Honobia area followed a trail from the original site and came upon an additional 6,000 plants.

“The plants ranged in height from one foot to four feet,” Jones stated. “Personnel from our department (Pushmataha County Sheriff’s Office), District 17 Drug Task Force, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) worked together to pull the plants.

“We also confiscated water hoses, gardening tools and another water pump,” Jones continued.

Jones said if fully grown and harvested, the plants would have a street value of $6 million, bringing the total so far to $26 million. Jones said local agencies are continuing the investigation.

ODAFF Agent Finds An Additional 6,000 Marijuana Plants in Pushmatah Co.

We received this email from Capt. Jerry Flowers, ODAFF Investigative Services Division this afternoon:

“Yesterday evening (ODAFF) Special Agent Patrick Blake found a marijuana field growing approximately 1/4 mile from the location where the 20 thousand marijuana plants were found in Pushmataha County. Agent Blake marked the location and this morning he returned to the location with deputies from Push County,Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Agents and U.S. Forestry Agents. I also sent ODAF Agent Terry Gregg to assist.

“After all agents met at the location they began their search of the mountain area. At 17:45 hours Agent Blake called me and reported his find resulted in the recovery of over 6000 marijuana plants, water pumps and approximately one mile of water hose used to irrigate the plants. All of the plants are in the custody of the OBN and drug task force. The Sheriff of Pushmataha County was very pleased with Agent Blake’s efforts in this case.

“Our agents, especially Agent Patrick Blake did and outstanding job and made our agency shine today.”–Capt. Jerry Flowers.

Comment: Agent Blake’s find not only increases the size of what was already the largest drug bust anyone can remember in Pushmataha County, it puts a serious dent in the supply of marijuana hitting our streets.–Jack Carson

ODAFF Investigative Services Assists in Major Pot Bust in Pushmataha County

Special Agent Terry Gregg, Investigative Services Division, received an assignment Monday regarding two fires in the Kiamichi Mountains, four miles north of Nashoba Oklahoma, on Highway 144. The fires are arsons that were set in the middle of the forest that is maintained by the Moffis Timber Company.

As a result of flying over the fire areas about 20 thousand marijuana plants have been spotted on the mountain. Pushmataha County Sheriff’s Department, Drug Task Force Officers, and Special Agent Gregg are investigating. The drug task force has arrested illegal immigrants in the area and expects more arrests to come.

Special Agent Gregg said the fires appear to have been set by someone possibly to draw attention to the operation. The drug cultivation is very large with irrigation systems set up in the mountains to feed the marijuana.

Law Enforcement in that area took two days to collect all of the plants that have an estimated value of about $20 million, according to Pushmataha authorities. According to the sheriff, this was the largest drug bust in the history of Pushmataha County.