(Stillwater, Okla.) — A convicted burglar has been jailed on a felony charge of breaking into the Sigma Nu fraternity house on W. University Ave. in Stillwater on Feb. 8 through an unlocked back door — while he was free on bail on felony charges of twice breaking into the Beta Theta Phi fraternity house, which is located three blocks away on W. University Ave., through an unlocked front door, court records show.

Christian Dion Bellows, 28, of Stillwater, who got out of prison in 2017, remains in the Payne County Jail pending a court appearance this week on his case regarding the Sigma Nu fraternity house, which was filed last week.

Bellows had been released on a personal recognizance bond last summer pending a jury trial this May on his older charges of breaking into the Beta Theta Phi fraternity house on April 23 and April 24 of 2018, for which he could receive as much as two life prison terms if convicted, due to his criminal record, court records show.

In his new case, Bellows was arrested just south of Drummond Hall at 3:40 a.m. on Feb. 8, according to an affidavit by Stillwater Police Officer Robbie Frazier.

“On Feb. 8, 2019, at approximately 2:55 am, Officer Brese and I were dispatched to Sigma Nu Fraternity, located at 913 W. University Ave.,” regarding a nervous male in a gray OSU pullover and jeans, who came into the house and asked questions about his friend’s wallet, an affidavit alleged.

As Stillwater police were arriving in the area, OSU Police Officer Chance Simpson had already contacted a man matching Bellows’ description on the south side of Drummond Hall, the affidavit alleged.

“Officer Brese advised he had spoken to members of the fraternity including the president,” who said that over the past two weeks, members had reported to him they were missing personal items and cash, the affidavit alleged.

One of the members said that at about 2:40 am, “he came face to face with a man that appeared to be trying to enter his roommate’s rooms by trying the door handles,” the affidavit alleged. The man “told him he was looking for someone to help him find his friend’s wallet,” the affidavit alleged.

The member “stated this was on the third floor and he told the man that everyone up here would be asleep and if he needed assistance he would have to talk with someone downstairs,” where he was shown out of the house, the affidavit alleged.

When the member “saw the subject we were out with, he stated, ‘that’s him,"” the Stillwater officer alleged in his affidavit.

In the Beta Theta Pi fraternity case, police went sent at 10:23 am on April 23, 2018, regarding a burglar entering an unlocked door and taking money from five members’ wallets while they were asleep, according to an affidavit by Stillwater Police Detective John Paul Johnson.

A fraternity associate said that on April 18, 2018, a Young Life activity meeting was held on the fraternity’s basketball court where a man he knew as Christopher Reese, a known alias for Bellows, was present, the affidavit alleged.

That witness “described how he caught ‘Reese’ lying about being a previous fraternity member,” the affidavit alleged. That witness said that “Reese claimed in a later phone call that he left his wallet at the fraternity, but hung up when confronted about lying about past membership,” the affidavit alleged.

That witness provided a Stillwater police officer with a photo of Bellows that appeared to be from Facebook with the name “Christopher Reese,” the affidavit alleged.

The next day, at 4:16 am, two Stillwater officers went to the fraternity house where members had detained “Christopher Reese,” later identified as Bellows, the affidavit alleged.

When Bellows was asked by a Stillwater officer why he was inside the fraternity house at 4 am, “Bellows said he was looking for his other wallet that he dropped in the house approximately one week ago while attending a Young Life Group meeting,” the affidavit alleged.

The building has a security video surveillance system maintained by the Greek Neighborhood Association, in which the suspect was identified by police as Bellows, the affidavit alleged.

At about 12:46 a.m. on May 2, 2018, Stillwater Police Officer Jimmy Knox located Bellows in the parking lot at 724 W. 6th and arrested him on the detective’s request, the affidavit alleged.

Bellows was also originally charged with attempted to break into the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at 1123 W. University Ave. after police were called at 2:54 a.m. on April 28, 2018, about a man attempting to enter buildings by trying to open doors, Stillwater Police Sgt. David Duncan wrote in an affidavit.

After Bellows was located at 3rd and Monroe, a member of different fraternity said “he saw Bellows try and enter the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house” by pulling on a doorknob, the affidavit alleged. However, that attempted burglary charge was dismissed for lack of evidence by the judge at an Oct. 1, 2018, preliminary hearing, court records show.

According to criminal records from Payne County and the state Department of Corrections, Bellows was originally placed on probation for a second-degree burglary in 2013, that was changed to a five-year prison term when he was given a concurrent seven-year prison term for a second-degree burglary in 2015, of which he served about two years.

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