Stolen trailers recovered

Monday, October 24th 2005, 11:26 am

By: News On 6

Pryor authorities bust up a suspected theft ring, recovering thousands of dollars worth of stolen trailers and other equipment. Investigators say they caught a Mayes county man red-handed and there are more arrests to come.

News on 6 reporter Heather has the story.

David Cannon: "We just counted it as gone and we'd never see it again." They're doing something many theft victims don't get a chance to, reclaiming their valuable property. â€œWe feel very fortunate to have gotten it back." Mayes County authorities recovered two stolen trailers, a cement finisher and a pickup truck, all thanks to the work of a sharp-eyed business owner.

Pryor Police say the suspect tried to sell the stolen equipment at a Pryor rental shop. But the owner felt something wasn't quite right. The man's asking price was simply too low for what he was selling, so he got suspicious and called police. Mayes County Sheriff Frank Cantey: "He was selling approximately $50,000 worth of equipment and was wanting $4,500 for it, so we couldn't have done it without the business owner."

Officers arrested Mayes County resident Chris Herron, a man investigators suspect has been dealing in stolen goods for years. Authorities say Herron was driving this stolen truck from Muskogee with plates from another vehicle and more ripped off items piled up in the back. Investigators say trailers are very popular with crooks. Cantey: "They don't have to have tags on em and they're just hard to trace."

Nothing new to Tulsa businessman David Cannon, this is the seventh time he's been hit. â€œAs a matter of fact, this trailer replaced one that was stolen in April I believe." Now he's going to go to the costly trouble of installing a GPS tracker on the trailer. "I've hesitated doing it because I didn't want to spend $750, but it makes me furious, I'd like to catch one of em doing it one time."

Investigators are hoping the same thing and say more arrests are on the way. Cantey: "The information that we're getting from our suspect is that it is a larger scale operation." One spanning at least three counties. Pryor Police are still looking for the owner of the second trailer and hope someone will recognize it. They believe both were stolen from Tulsa.

In Tulsa County you can register your trailer for free with the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office in case of theft.