Two Allen men were arrested January 19 for burglary in the 2nd degree and grand larceny. The suspects are Chance Adrian Griffin, 30, and Douglas Lee Tatum, 23.

Coal County Sheriff’s Deputy Dylan Kimmel said he and Deputy Seth Crews and Chief Deputy Jesse Yother were dispatched to a residence on Pine and Legal Road for a theft report on January 17. The property owner, Matt Elbert, told the deputies that the chain on his locked gate had been cut and three buildings on the property broken into.

The deputies saw that the building doors had been pried open, tool bags were on the ground, totes and boxes torn open and the contents missing.

Two days later, January 19, when Deputy Crews conducted a property check, he saw that the chain around the front gate had been cut and there were signs of forcible entry.

Crews notified Deputy Kimmel who came to the property and the two officers checked all the buildings on the property. All four had been broken into again. Some of the stolen items included a wood burning stove, building supplies, hand tools and grow lights. Upon leaving the property, they advised Mr. Elbert that they would be back later that night to set up surveillance cameras.

They were en route back to the property later that night when Kimmel saw a white Chevrolet pickup with a trailer and numerous items in the pickup bed turning south from Pine and Legal onto SH 75. Crews then saw that the vehicle had a defective taillight and an obstructed license plate and the trailer did not have lights.

Needless to say, the deputies turned around and initiated a traffic stop on the pickup. During the stop, they saw items in the vehicle that Mr. Elbert had reported missing. Sheriff Jason Smith and Chief Deputy Jesse Yother were notified, and upon their arrival to the scene, Kimmel contacted Mr. Elbert. Elbert came to the scene and was able to identify several items that belong to him, such as a 100-foot tape, grow lights, a propane burner, tool bag and portable auger.

Smith and Yother went to Elbert’s property and saw that the property had been broken into once again and the tractor tampered with. The suspects were placed under arrest and transported to the Coal County jail.

Court records show that the stolen items totaled over $6,300.

Both suspects pleaded not guilty to the burglary and larceny charges during their initial court appearance on January 21.

Records show that Tatum posted a $40,000 bond on January 27. Yother said Monday that Griffin, however, is a tribal member of the Choctaw Nation and was taken into custody by Atoka County. Online records still show that both suspects are scheduled for preliminary hearing conferences in Coal County District Court on February 6. Records also show that Griffin was charged in 2014 with knowingly receiving stolen property and was given a deferred sentence.

Burglary in the 2nd degree carries a penalty of up to seven years in the state penitentiary. Grand larceny is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years in the state penitentiary or up to one year in the county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both fine and imprisonment plus restitution.