Rape and Robbery Suspect Captured After Holiday Weekend Crime Spree

Monday, November 29th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A holiday weekend crime spree is finally over. Police say the public can rest easy now that Dean Beaver is behind bars. They say he committed a dozen violent crimes in three states over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Detectives say Beaver somehow managed to stay one step ahead of the police and every crime he committed was growing more violent than the last. "This guy was going to kill somebody sooner or later," said Tulsa Police detective Rod Russo. "And we didn't want that to happen."

Beaver began his crime wave in Catoosa on Thursday when officers tried to arrest him for rape and kidnapping. They say he got away, broke into a woman's house, held her at gun point, and then stole a car. Police say he then robbed the Day's Inn on north Garnett Road. They say he dropped the stolen car in Prue and stole another one.

From there, Beaver headed to Emporia, Kansas where he tried to rob an Econo Lodge, but the victim was a little too feisty. "When he demanded money from a 75-year-old female employee, she said, â€˜Noâ€™ and slammed the cash register drawer closed. He simply got frustrated and left."

The suspect then headed to Franklin County, Kansas where police say he tried to rob a car wash unsuccessfully. He then assaulted and robbed a man at a rest stop. Police chased Beaver until he crashed the stolen car from Prue. However, he slipped away from officers again by stealing an 18-wheeler semi-truck and driving it to Odessa, Missouri.

Police say he abandoned the truck and tried to car jack a woman at a mall. "He was found in a building, but again decided to run," explained Russo. "They pursued him on foot through the woods. He then threw his gun in a pond where he was finally apprehended," he said.

Tulsa police say Beaver is also a suspect in a home invasion robbery and an arson case, both of which happened before his latest crime spree. They blame his lifestyle of crime on his membership in the Mongols. The Mongols known by law enforcement officials as a notorious motorcycle gang. "A lot of times gang members usually use their reputation to intimidate people," noted Russo.

Now that Beaver is behind bars, the judicial system must decide whether Oklahoma or Kansas has the opportunity to prosecute him first. Detectives say they've seen an increase in criminal activity from the Mongols gang in Tulsa recently. They say gang members generally target each other.