Man Accused Of Stealing From Tahlequah Non-Profit Multiple Times

Tahlequah police arrested a man they say stole from a non-profit four times in just a few weeks.

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a place where folks can get good deals on household items.

Manager Dave Heald said all the money made there helps support the Habitat for Humanity cause - building houses for low-income families in the community.

“It's to help people,” Heald said.

On the weekends, people leave donations under a carport and they stay there until the ReStore opens Monday.

Posted signs make it clear that taking the items is a crime.

But, over the past month, police said one man, Jerry Rose, stole from the donation center four different times. Police arrested Jerry Rose in connection to the crime.

Police said the key to solving the case was the security cameras outside the ReStore that are always rolling.

In the video, you can see a man get out of a pickup truck, rummage through some of the donated items, load them in the bed of the truck then drive away.

Tahlequah Police Chief Nate Kings said Rose is the man in the video.

The police report says Rose told officers he stole the items then sold them to buy food because he didn't have a job and was homeless.

“While you feel sorry for the man, feel bad, bad, for the man not having a job right now, not having a home at the same time, lots of people and places in Tahlequah will help people when they need it,” King said.

One of those places is the shop Rose is accused of stealing from - an organization that said it would have been happy to help him had he just asked.

“We like to look at us as being a service to the community and understands problems that other people have and, hopefully, we can help them out,” Heald said.

Rose is currently out on bond.