By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 56-year-old Cushing man with an extensive criminal record has been given a five-year prison term followed by five years of probation for breaking into the Cimarron Hearing Aid Company by prying open the back door of the Cushing business.
Due to his prior convictions in Payne, Kay and Tulsa counties, Gary Ray Hiltzman could have been given as much as a life prison term if he had not accepted a plea agreement with the prosecution when he admitted his guilt last week.
When he finishes his term of incarceration, Hiltzman must begin paying $1,025 in restitution, undergo random drug tests, provide a DNA sample and enroll in Work Force as conditions of probation, Associate District Judge Michael Kulling ordered. Hiltzman was given a concurrent one-year jail term for possessing methamphetamine and marijuana.
Two days after the Aug. 12 break-in at the Cushing business, Hiltzman was arrested by Cushing Police Officer Cody Carpenter during a traffic stop after he was spotted at a food shop by an off-duty officer, according to an affidavit.
“I placed Gary Ray Hiltzman into investigative detention. I led Hiltzman back to my patrol vehicle and asked him if he had anything on him I should know about. Hiltzman responded with ‘I got a little shit in my pocket.’
“I pulled Hiltzman’s wallet out of his left front pants pocket. Inside the front of the wallet, I located a small baggy with a white crystal-like substance,” which was methamphetamine, Officer Carpenter wrote in his affidavit.
“I told Hiltzman the reason he was being detained was for a burglary that he is on camera committing. I told Hiltzman I knew he stole a television and a cash register. I also told Hiltzman that he tried to cover up the camera, but it did not work.
“I told Hiltzman I wanted to know where he took the stuff that he stole. Hiltzman stated he did not know about breaking into anything. I told Hiltzman he is on camera and that photo we showed him was of him committing the burglary.
“Hiltzman finally admitted the items he stole were behind his buddy’s place in a shed. I asked Hiltzman for his address and last name. Hiltzman could not provide that information to me,” but described the house, which was located on E. Walnut Street, the officer wrote in his affidavit.
“I asked Hiltzman if (his buddy) would know that the stolen items were back there, and he advised he would not know. I asked Hiltzman if he took any cash out of the stolen cash register, and Hiltzman advised he did. I asked Hiltzman if he had already spent the money, and Hiltzman advised he did,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
“Sometime later, MPO Gegen advised me he located the cash register and television underneath some clothing in the shed,” on Hiltzman’s “buddy’s” property, the officer wrote in his affidavit.
Video of the burglary from a camera above the back door of the Cimarron Hearing Aid Company showed that at about 6:09 am on Aug. 12 a man wearing a hockey-style mask attempted to place cups on the lights above the back door of the business, from which a cash register with about $100 and a Sony television were reported taken, the affidavit said.
“At one point, the subject takes off the mask and continues to attempt to place the cups over the lights. Officer Wright was able to take a screenshot of the male subject,” which was sent to Cushing officers, who identified Hiltzman as the suspect, the affidavit said.
“On one video, the suspect is seen with some type of item in his hands and is attempting to pry the door open,” the affidavit said.
According to court records, Hiltzman has a criminal record dating back to the 1990s when he was convicted in Tulsa County of carrying an object into prison to escape, second-degree burglary, concealing stolen property, and failing to comply with a personal recognizance bond.
Four years after his 1998 release from prison, Hiltzman was charged with second-degree forgery in Kay County where in 2004 he was placed on five years’ probation, court records show. After completing that sentence, Hiltzman was charged with possessing stolen copper in Payne County where in 2012 he was placed on 10 years’ probation, court records show.
