By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Cushing man and his teen-aged son, who were both arrested Friday, have been charged as co-defendants with breaking into Cushman Cannabis dispensary located eight blocks from their residence — by prying open the side door with a crowbar about 48 times in the early morning of July 22, court records allege.
Randy Lee Day, 41, an ex-convict released from prison four years ago, and his son, Presten Blayne Day, 18, were arraigned Tuesday from the Payne County Jail where they were ordered held on $10,000 bail each on the charges that were filed Friday.
Due to his criminal record, the father could be given a prison term ranging from four years to life if convicted of second-degree burglary after two or more prior felonies. His son could be incarcerated for zero to seven years if convicted of second-degree burglary. Both could be fined as much as $10,000.
The marijuana dispensary was burglarized by two individuals at about 3:24 am on July 22; the Cushing Police Department was notified about four minutes later by the alarm company, Cushing Police Detective Jerrod Livergood wrote in an affidavit.
“When officers arrived, they discovered that the door to the business was pried open, and the alarm was going off. When the business owners arrived, they provided the surveillance footage of two individuals that appeared to be white males, one older due to a receding hairline and one younger.
“The younger suspect wore a face covering, while the older suspect wore red or orange gloves. The two individuals used a crowbar and pried the door open, then entered the business. They are then seen running away shortly after with their arms full of items. The dispensary provided a list of specific prepackaged and serial numbered marijuana that was stolen,” the affidavit alleged.
After the detective reviewed the footage, he said that the suspects made multiple attempts to break into the business, the affidavit alleged.
At 2:12 am, both suspects approached the west door wearing gloves and carrying a crowbar before checking the door and leaving, the affidavit alleged.
At 2:20 am, both suspects approached and pried on the door about 10 times with the crowbar until the older one fell on his back, which knocked his hat off and revealed his receding hairline; both suspects again walked away, the affidavit alleged.
At 2:28 am, both suspects approached again and pried on the door about 19 times with the crowbar — breaking a small piece of the door trim before walking away, the affidavit alleged.
At 2:33 am, Cushing Police Officer Connor Clark “observed and waved at Randy Day and Presten Day near the scene (approximately 700 feet from the business that was burglarized) wearing the exact same clothing description,” the affidavit alleged.
At 2:49 am, both suspects approached again and pried on the door about 19 more times with the crowbar — where they broke a large piece of the door trim before walking away, the affidavit alleged.
At 3:23 am, both suspects approached without the crowbar and “pulled on the broken door successfully pulling it open causing several pieces of the door trim to break and fall to the ground.
“The suspects then entered the business for about 21 seconds, then ran to the south carrying about 6-8 plastic drawers full of items. The alarm then goes off about 20 seconds after they exited the business,” the affidavit alleged.
Officer Clark noted that “after reviewing the footage, he was positive it was the two individuals he had seen less than one hour before the burglary walking in the immediate area two blocks away. Officer Clark was close enough to the individuals and was able to clearly see their clothing descriptions and faces due to the downtown streetlights. Officer Clark also advised that the individuals were standing very close to his patrol car driver side door at the time.”
“Officer Clark conducted a field interview on the same male subjects on Aug. 1, 2023, and identified him as Randy Day as well as his 18-year-old son, Presten Day, was with him. Officer Clark noted that when he told Randy Day he saw him in the area on the night of the burglary, Randy told him that he was headed to his mother’s house that night,” the affidavit alleged.
The detective alleged in his affidavit, “On Aug. 21, 2023, I made contact with Randy Day and Presten Day walking in the area of Walnut and Steele. I asked them to come speak to me about the burglary since they were seen in the area at the time. Randy advised they would come speak to me at the Cushing Police Department.
“Randy and Presten came to the Cushing Police Department and waited in the lobby for approximately five minutes, then left before being interviewed. Presten was captured on camera wearing the same unique shorts that are two-tone grey and black that the younger suspect was wearing on the surveillance footage during the burglary.”
The detective obtained a search warrant on Sept. 6 for the residence where the father and son were staying. “Multiple occupants advised that Randy sleeps on the couch and Presten sleeps on the bed in the living room. I seized the unique grey/black shorts, red/black gloves, and two plastic drawers consistent with the ones missing from the Cushman Cannabis burglary,” the detective alleged in his affidavit.
“The plastic drawers that were stolen had square white labels on each in the same location on the front of the drawer. The two drawers I seized from their residence also had the same size white square labels that had been mostly ripped off. Randy and Presten were present when the search warrant was served,” the affidavit alleged.
The father and son were arrested two days later when their felony burglary charges were filed, court records show.
According to court records and the state Department of Corrections, the father had previously been convicted of:
* concealing stolen property in Cushing in 2011 and placed on five years’ probation in 2012 with an order to pay $500 restitution to Arrow Pump and Supply, which had listed its loss as $20,152;
* child endangerment by drunk driving in Drumright in Creek County in 2013, for which he was originally given five years’ probation in 2014, that was revoked three years later when he was given a three-year prison term, of which he served two years;
* child endangerment by drunk driving in Payne County in 2017, for which he was given in 2018 a six-year prison term concurrent to the above Creek County sentence and released in December of 2019;
* possession of the drug oxycodone in Cushing in 2016, for which he was given in 2018 a six-year prison term concurrent to both of his child endangerment sentences.
