By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Cushing man, whose co-defendant has not been apprehended, pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing mail from 15 different mailboxes in Cushing on Oct. 28, 2023.
Printiss Skylar Romine, 24, who was arrested two and one-half months ago and jailed on $7,500 bail, was ordered released Tuesday on a personal recognizance bond to address a Lincoln County case.
“We’re hoping Lincoln County will put him in Drug Court,” defense attorney Virginia Banks told Payne County Associate District Judge Michael Kulling Tuesday.
Romine was ordered to return to Payne County District Court on July 1 to be sentenced on 15 counts of mail theft, which can be punished by up to 75 years in prison.
Cushing Police Officer Christpher Haywood had been sent at 9:22 am on Oct. 28, 2023, to a house in the 700 block of E. Walnut regarding the theft of mail from a mailbox next to the curb, according to an affidavit.
A Cushing man “explained that he had been reviewing his camera footage, as one of his cameras points at his mailbox, which faces the street, just next to the curb of E. Walnut Street.
“While reviewing camera footage, (he) said he observed two subjects walking westbound down the road. (He) explained that he was waiting for documents relating to his mortgage and was concerned whoever stole the package now had access to sensitive information,” the affidavit said.
In the video, one suspect walked in front of the mailbox, opened it, and continued walking while a second suspect examined the mailbox and removed the contents from inside, the affidavit alleged. Both suspects in dark clothing continued walking west, the affidavit alleged.
Cushing Police Officer Jason Beal discovered that two suspects matching the description in the video had walked into the Maveric at 609 E. Main at about 1:10 am, the affidavit alleged. The suspects were identified as Printiss Romine and Casey McAlister, now 26, the affidavit alleged.
Officer Beal learned where McAlister was employed and contacted the manager, who said he was not working that day but had his contact phone number, the affidavit alleged.
“I dialed the number with my department-issued phone. A male answered the phone, and I asked if who I was talking to was Casey. The male said he was not Casey and that he was Printiss. I identified myself to Printiss and explained that I needed to talk to him as well.
“I explained to Printiss that I needed to speak with them in person and that if they met with me, I would not take them to jail today for the mail they had stolen. I further explained to Printiss that he and Casey needed to present and return all the mail taken.
“Printiss asked if I could meet them near Timber Ridge Apartments. I advised them I could meet them at the bridge, just north of the Timber Ridge Apartments. Printiss said they would come.
“At about 11:30 am, I met with Casey McAlister and Printiss Romine at the bridge just north of 306 S. Timber Ridge Drive. There, Romine surrendered a black duffle bag, which was filled to the top with opened and assorted mail from throughout the city of Cushing.
“I asked both subjects why they had taken people’s mail. Both said they didn’t know,” Officer Haywood alleged in his affidavit.
According to Lincoln County court records, a bench warrant was issued for Romine’s arrest after he failed to appear in court on July 18, 2024, on a burglary case in which he was charged with two co-defendants with breaking into a rural Cushing man’s house on May 1, 2024, in Lincoln County where multiple guns were stolen.
His co-defendants in the Lincoln County case, Cameron Tyce Wedin, 24, of Oilton, and Tommy Nathaniel Tilley, 20, of rural Cushing, both pleaded guilty on June 25, 2024, to second-degree burglary for which they were each given seven-year prison terms, with the balance to be suspended if they complete the Regimented Inmate Discipline (RID) prison boot camp program, Lincoln County court records show.
