Mayes County Deputies Recover Teen's Stolen Rodeo Gear

Mayes County deputies have arrested a man and recovered stolen items from five different counties--maybe even more.

One of the people getting his stuff back is a teenaged roper who had most of his rodeo gear stolen.

When we first talked to 15-year-old Sam Cravens in May, the up and coming roper was frustrated after a thief took his saddles and tack, even his horse trailer.

He competes in more than 30 youth rodeo events each season. The saddles were ones he had earned at rodeos.

5/6/2013 Related Story: Mayes County Teen Roper Frustrated After His Saddles Were Stolen

"After the first couple of months, I didn't think I'd see them again. I thought they were long gone," Cravens said.

Now, thanks to Mayes County investigators, his saddles and some of his tack are back.

After getting a tip, Mayes County Sheriff Mike Reed said they watched Leon Quinn's house north of Salina, got a search warrant, and found tens of thousands of dollars in stolen stuff.

"People are so lazy they won't work, they got to steal, and when you can recover that and get it back to the rightful owners, it's just very rewarding," Reed said.

The longer stolen items are missing, the harder it is to recover them. In this case, persistence paid off. Investigators found stolen items from all over the area.

"You find stuff stolen from all over at one place, because it's the same lowlifes that are stealing from good, working people out here," Reed said.

Quinn is charged with possession of stolen property. Investigators also expect a charge of a felon in possession of a gun.

Sam Cravens didn't get all of his gear back, but at least he got his saddles. Someone had used a grinder to try to remove his name from one, and an event title from another, but he's happy to get them back and to be roping again.

"I thank them for their hard work, and not quitting after a few months, and keeping at it, and I really appreciate it," Cravens said.

Sheriff Reed said they found stolen items taken from Mayes, Wagoner, Delaware, Craig and Cherokee Counties, including a backhoe, a flatbed trailer, and several four wheelers.