Burglars Busted After Crashing Truck On Tulsa Highway

Emily Baucum, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma --  There were tense moments as burglars lead police on a chase down Highway 169 in Tulsa Friday.

The chase finally ended when the driver crashed the pick-up. Two burglars were arrested, one is still on the loose.

Police believe the young men hit up several homes in the past few days, including one in the middle of the night when the homeowners were asleep.

They got caught after an attempted break-in Friday morning. The owner of that home is crediting his neighbors with catching the guys in the act.

It ended with a pancaked pickup, but police tracked the burglars the old-fashioned way: a footprint on the front door.

"They just kicked it open. They just kicked it open," Larry Dame said.

Larry Dame says luckily, he was at work when criminals kicked down his door.

"I was on a forklift at the time," he said.

Where Dame got even luckier: his neighbors saw it all happen.

"They're my new best friends," he said, laughing.

One neighbor's security cameras were rolling the whole time. Down the street, another neighbor watching out the window called 911.

"They called us. While we were en route witnesses continued giving us updates," said Captain Rick Helberg, with the Tulsa Police Department.

Those clues led Tulsa Police straight to the getaway car driving down Highway 169.

"Suddenly for some reason turned, swerved real quick and fast, hit another vehicle," Captain Helberg said.

One burglar bailed from the car, but the other two were trapped in the wreckage and taken into custody.

"I have an ADT sign in my front yard. How stupid can they be?" Dame said.

That alarm scared the burglars away from Dame's house. All they left with was a big mess.

"They got it shored up but everything came flying out of the wall from here," he said.

Officers think that kick really packed a punch. The door trim came off all in one piece. No cracks, no splinters.

Larry Dame calls the break-in brazen.

"They don't care. They don't care," he said. "Broad daylight. They don't care."

But his neighbors do care, kicking the criminals behind bars.

Prosecutors are expected to charge the two burglars who are in custody. At least one has a record, including possession of stolen property.

The third suspect is still on the loose but officers say they know who he is.