Suspected Tulsa Robber Found Dead

By Chris Wright, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- A man was found dead Sunday afternoon less than 50 yards from the store he is suspected of robbing the previous day.

A passerby spotted the body of the 46-year-old man in an alley behind Drug Warehouse, 5046 S. Sheridan Road. The man matched the suspect description from a robbery at the store about 4:15 p.m. Saturday.

The robber took three bottles of the opiate oxycodone, but police don't know whether the deceased man died from an overdose.

"We're not sure what the cause of death is," Tulsa Police Cpl. Gene Watkins said. "There are no visible signs of trauma. Right now we're waiting for the medical examiner to respond to the scene."

Police are also trying to figure out how long the body remained undiscovered in the alley.

They don't know whether the suspect died immediately after the Drug Warehouse robbery or whether he returned to the scene Saturday night.

The medical examiner was on scene Sunday and will perform an autopsy. Authorities hope the results will help sort out the circumstances surrounding the man's death.

"We don't know if he fell going over the fence, or if he had a medical problem while he was fleeing, or if he came back then slipped," Watkins said.

The man's name has not been released.