Robberies Increasing In East Tulsa

By Lori Fullbright, News On 6

TULSA, OK - There has been a staggering increase in the number of citizens being robbed in East Tulsa recently. Even detectives are shocked by how young some of the robbers are.

The robberies are happening from Memorial to 129th East Avenue and between Admiral and 41st Street.

Detectives say this rash of robberies is unique because it is localized to apartment complexes and there are so many. Both the victims and the suspects generally live close by.

Most of the robbers aren't old enough to drive, so they walk around, picking victims pretty much at random.

"The majority of the victims are legitimate victims. I would say 60% are legitimate and 40% have some questionable activity as to why they're in the area. A lot of them admit they're there to buy marijuana, drugs or other contraband and that's why they're in those complexes," said TPD Sgt. Dave Walker.

Detectives have created a list of possible suspects, so they can cast a net and hopefully, pull in some of these robbers.

Two things about the list surprised them, how many names are on it and the age of the suspects.

"This week, we heard as young as eight are being recruited to pull some of these robberies. Most are in the age range of 15-16 to 20-years-old," said Sgt. Walker.

Sergeant Walker believes two things would cut down on these robberies, first for parents to keep track of their teenagers and not let them roam the streets and for parents to even search rooms, because these robbers have guns and those guns are being stored somewhere.

"Instead of watching the World Series, they're out robbing people, which I guess is a sad commentary on our society today," said Sgt. Walker.

The victims of these vicious crimes couldn't agree more.

Police say you should feel safe to shop and eat out in East Tulsa; these robberies are pretty confined to apartment complexes.

If you live in an apartment, they say to be extra vigilant walking from your car to your front door and when taking out the trash or going to the laundry room.