Burglary Victims At Tulsa Church Help Police Catch Suspected Thief

A suspected serial burglar is in jail, and his latest victim helped put him there.

Friday, April 26th 2013, 7:04 pm



A suspected serial burglar is in jail, and his latest victim helped put him there.

Igor didn't want to be identified, but said he and his buddies were just hanging out after band practice at the Slavic Missionary Church Wednesday night, when his friend, Sladic, stepped outside.

"He comes in and says his window got broken and his guitar was missing," Igor said.

A $2,500 guitar, along with Igor's keys and cash were gone.

"He called the cops and from there on, the cops came and we showed them the video," Igor said.

4/25/2013 Related Story: Tulsa Homeowner Helps Catch Serial Burglary Suspect

They watched it all unfold on the church's surveillance video. It showed the thief looking through Igor's car, then rifling through several other cars and, finally, speeding away.

Igor got in his car and went one way and his youth pastor went the other.

The pastor eventually tracked the suspect down and called police, who arrested Joseph Shelton at a Burger King, near 161st and Admiral.

Police found credit cards, IDs, checks, and a weighing scale with white residue on it. Police think it was probably meth.

Court records show Shelton has already had several run-ins with the law, and could face five felony charges for Wednesday's incident.

As for Igor, he and his friend got their stuff back and Igor said prayer made the difference.

"Cause we prayed about it after it happened and asked God to take control of the situation, and He did, praise God," Igor said.

Police tell us they don't recommend tailing someone suspected of committing a crime, because you never know what could happen.

But in this case, there was a good ending. Police recovered the church victims' stolen items and returned them.

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