Mayes County Sheriff's Office Busts Multi-State Burglary Ring

A major burglary ring targeting elementary schools all over the country was busted in Mayes County this week.

The sheriff's office said investigators arrested a key player in the crime ring after finding stolen property at the suspect's home in Pryor. They also found many items in the suspect's storage facility located in Rogers County. The stolen items ranged from electronics to collectors' coins, from at least six different states.

"It is absolutely mind-boggling what these guys have been into," said Lieutenant Brent Mull with the Mayes County Sheriff's Office Crime Interdiction Unit.

Mull's team is holding a small portion of the stolen property: iPads, computer towers, laptops. Some items came from house burglaries, but most of them came from schools.

"They're going in, taking electronics, money in teachers' desks, and then they take it and turn it around really quick," Mull said.

Authorities said the ring has different levels. The burglars steal the items, then, turn them into a "middle man" whose job is to peddle the property quickly to make a profit.

Investigators believe they arrested the "middle man" in the ring.

They believe finding him means investigators can begin to dismantle the entire organization.

"He's the missing link," explained Investigator Keshia Oberg. "We can't tie these burglaries to individuals because they don't sell the stuff. He does. So he is a key part of the operation as to why burglaries go unsolved."

The group hit schools all over Oklahoma, including Shady Grove in Hulbert — Cherokee County — but also schools in Kansas, Colorado, Arkansas and even an elementary school in Idaho, investigators said.

Authorities said someone stole dozens of iPads, worth $28,000 altogether, from the Idaho school. At least one stolen iPad showed up at a Pryor pawn shop.

"Pryor, Oklahoma from Idaho — I don't know how many miles that is, but it's a long way," Mull said. "They had never heard of Pryor, Oklahoma up in Idaho."

Authorities are not releasing the suspect's name, as the investigation is ongoing and they arrest more arrests to come shortly.

The sheriff's office said much of their investigation centered around a new software that shows law enforcement when stolen items turn up in some pawn shops.

"This has taken us to multiple different counties, multiple towns, multiple states, and it is specifically because of this software," Oberg said.

When investigators searched this suspect's name in the software's database, it came up with 48 pages of results. Typical suspects, they said, only have five or six entries to their name.

It's a big case, the sheriff's office said, that will end with these items going back to their rightful owners.

"We believe there are more storage facilities out there that will be a treasure trove," Mull said.

The Mayes County Sheriff's Office plans to return the items stolen from Swan Valley Elementary School in Bonneville County, Idaho, in person.