(Stillwater, Okla.) – An admitted cattle thief, released from prison one and one-half years ago, has been charged with breaking into an RV vehicle in the 2000 block of S. Agra Road in rural Ripley, along with possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, all on Monday.
Bryan Ray Case, 42, of Cushing, who previously lived in Tryon, was freed from the Payne County Jail on Monday after posting $20,000 bail, with an order to appear in court on Thursday, a sheriff’s spokesman told KUSH today.
Due to his criminal record of stealing cattle and possessing stolen farm equipment, Case could be given a prison sentence of six years to life if convicted of vehicle burglary after former felony convictions in Payne and Lincoln counties, court records show.
Case, who began serving probationary sentences after he got out of prison, also could be given a two-year jail term and $2,000 in fines if convicted of his misdemeanor drug-related counts.
Case was arrested at 6:29 a.m. Monday by Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy Chris McKosato, who was sent to the rural Ripley property at 1:27 a.m. on a report of a suspicious person, an affidavit said.
The owner pointed toward a small shed to the southwest of his property and whispered he had last seen the suspect in that direction, the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
After hearing a snap and light rustling, the deputy walked toward the sound and saw a white shirt in the shadows, according to his affidavit.
“I yelled out ‘Sheriff’s Department’ and observed a white male, later identified as Bryan Case, on the south side of the barbed wire fence fleeing towards the west through the field,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
“I told Case I had my pistol drawn on him and to show me his hands. I challenged Case several times and he complied and dropped to his knees. I located $360, all in $20 dollar bills, a small silver Canon camera, silver tweezers and a cell phone on Case,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
“I was able to find a clear bag of a crystal-like substance near the fence approximately 25 feet from where I took Case into custody,” that field-tested as methamphetamine, the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
“I asked Case what he was doing on the property and he said he had a blow-out on his vehicle and was waiting for help. I asked Case if he was on the property near the RV and he stated no and that he only was on the south side of the fence,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
“I asked Case about some tools in the back of his car and if they belonged to him. Case stated he knew nothing about the tools and said the car was his friend’s,” whom he did not name, the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
“I asked Case how long he had been on the property and he stated ‘one minute before I seen you,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
“I was advised later the 911 call was made after the reporting party had watched Case for 20-25 minutes. I got the call at 1:27 and made first contact with Case at 1:42 (a.m.) making him on the property approximately 35-45 minutes,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
“I am a trained and certified tracking instructor for the Sheriff’s Office and was able to follow the tracks towards the west leading away from the vehicle Case was driving,” toward a small building used to store tools and equipment, the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
The property owner noticed that several large metal poles and tires had been moved, the affidavit alleged.
“I returned to the jail and compared the footprint evidence I located at the scene to the shoes Case had on and they appear to match. They each had small circle-like bubbles,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
According to court records and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Case was released from prison on Dec. 20, 2016, after serving about two years of eight concurrent seven-year prison terms he was given in 2014 for:
* cattle theft plus concealing a stolen brush hog and a stolen stock trailer in rural Cushing in Payne County, for which he remains on three years of probation with an order to pay $10,000 restitution for 10 cows, since the equipment was recovered;
* engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses plus five counts of concealing stolen property in Lincoln County, for which he remains on 13 years of probation with an order to pay $2,732 restitution.
***
