SEQUOYAH COUNTY, Okla. (KFSM) — The Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office used a hidden camera to catch a Sallisaw man and two juveniles breaking into a property in the Pinhook Corner area of Sequoyah County.
Deputies responded to a reported burglary in the area on May 30, Sequoyah County Sheriff Larry Lane says. After surveying the crime scene, Sheriff Larry Lane and Undersheriff Greg Cox decided "there was a very good chance that the thieves would come back," Lane said.
Lane then went and purchased a covert motion camera and placed it at the scene of the burglary.
On June 26, almost a month later, the homeowner called the sheriff's office to report that the thieves struck again. Deputies and investigators responded to the home of the burglary and searched the crime scene for evidence, while Sheriff Lane retrieved the memory card from the hidden camera. Lane then discovered that there were several pictures of three people forcibly breaking in and removing items and placing them in a truck.
Lane then began circulating the photos to try and identify the suspects, and a short time later, a relative of the victim contacted Lane and gave him a possible name of one of the suspects.
Investigators then went to the suspect's home and immediately noticed a truck matching the one in the pictures captured on the hidden camera.
"We were able to recover several of the items that were stolen from the home, along with the items that were purchased with money that had been stolen from the home," Lane said.
Hunter Killian, 18, of Sallisaw and two 17-year-old males, one from Gore and one from Vian were arrested for the burglary.
According to the theft report, there were approximately $4,000 in change, and several guns taken.
"I'm grateful that we were able to wrap this burglary up so quickly, I greatly appreciate the friends and relatives of the victim for helping us to identify the thieves, as well as our deputies and investigators for getting on this case so quickly and working relentlessly to get the property back for this victim, hopefully we stopped these young men from committing any further crimes, I think they realize that they made a bad decision and I hope they turn their lives around," Lane said.