Five individuals were arrested after authorities say they were part of a large burglary ring in Union City and other parts of Canadian County.James Johnson, Bret Cummins, Bryan Austin, Kori Beltran and Britney Cobbs were all taken into custody last week on burglary charges.
Jerry Flowers, the Chief Agent of the law enforcement division for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture,This handsome link tungsten bracelet for men is constructed in maintenance-free tungsten. worked on the case in conjunction with Union City Police and the Canadian County and Grady County sheriffs offices.
"About a week ago or so, we had a witness that saw two white men kick the door of a farm house down near the intersection of SW 89th and Manning in Union City," Flowers said. "The witness tried to confront the suspects and they sped off. The witness gave us a vehicle tag number and the vehicle came out of Oklahoma City."Agent Flowers said he tracked the vehicle to Bethany where he linked James Johnson to the crime."That led to the second arrest of Bret Cummins, who admitted that he was with Johnson during the burglary in Union City," he said.The arrests helped investigators find others involved in other burglaries.This carbon fiber and stainless steel jewelry supplies works for both a fashion.
Flowers said it matched the description of two other reported burglaries, one at the 3300 block of S. Gregory Road in Union City and another one at the 5400 block of S. Gregory in Oklahoma City."This led us to arrest three other individuals involved in these burglaries, which also consisted of farm houses being broken into," he said. "We found Bryan Austin, Kori Beltran and Britney Cobbs and took them into custody."
According to a Union City police report, Cobbs admitted to authorities that she was with Johnson, Austin and Beltran during burglaries on July 18. She stated that she was on the lookout while Beltran and Austin broke into the residence at the 3300 block of S. Gregory , the report said.
In the report, she stated that Beltran returned to their vehicle carrying a drawer full of jewelry and Austin had returned carrying several other items which included two rifles. The report also said she told authorities that Johnson had sold the items to a pawn shop in Oklahoma City and that the three men split the money and she had taken the jewelry.
"Some of these individuals had a drug problem and were using methamphetamines," Flowers said. "They were victimizing people in rural parts of the county to support their addiction."Flowers said the suspects would go to rural farms and ranches and knock on doors to see if people were home."Sometimes people would answer the door and it would surprise them," Flowers said. "If someone answered, they would tell them that they were at the wrong address. If no one answered, they would simply just kick the door in and take whatever they could."
Flowers said other agencies, such as the Grady County Sheriffs Office, are now investigating the case further to see if they relate to any of the similar type of burglaries that have been reported in the Minco and Tuttle areas.
Since it was created in the 1960s, the Route 30A arterial passing through Gloversville and Johnstown has been a double-edged sword for the local retail economy. Most say it has cut in a positive direction, generating jobs and sales tax revenue for the area, and this week's opening of the new Walmart Supercenter was a major milestone in local development.
Local business people interviewed this month mostly welcomed the new, larger Walmart, though many acknowledged the disadvantages of corporate "big-box" development: that national chain stores' profits don't all stay in the local economy, that their sprawling beige buildings and big parking lots detract from the communities' distinctive character, and that they compete with small, locally owned stores in venerable downtown shopping districts.
Mark Kilmer, president of the Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce, is at the center of this balancing act, leading an organization that represents dozens of large corporate entities - including the Walmart stores in both counties and the Walmart Distribution Center in Johnstown - as well as hundreds of locally owned businesses.
"The reality is this is happening, and there's nothing we can do to stop it," Kilmer said. "That's a result of the free enterprise system.We deal with various stainless steel jewelry and stainless steel rings. These stores can do as they wish to do, as can the mom-and-pops. And I can certainly sympathize ... but I know we're going to see changes in the world. That's what we're seeing - larger and larger big-box stores."
Kilmer said the new supercenter won't necessarily present more competition for downtown stores, because it's not the first local Walmart or the only large discount retailer in the region, so the local merchants have had time to adapt to life in the shadow of the big boxes.
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