Tulsa Police Officer Formally Charged With 5 Counts Of Robbery

The Tulsa County District Attorney's office has formally charged a Tulsa police officer with five counts of felony second-degree robbery after a sting operation resulted in his arrest.

According to court documents, police initiated an investigation into TPD officer Marvin Blades Jr., 37, late in 2011, after fellow officers said they noticed suspicious behavior. Blades was suspected of targeting Hispanics for traffic stops and stealing their money.

A sting operation was staged by TPD and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics on Aug. 24, and Blades was arrested after pulling over an undercover agent, ordering the agent to leave his wallet in the seat of his car and taking $600 worth of marked bills from the wallet while the agent stood at the back of the vehicle.

8/25/2012 Related Story: Tulsa Police Officer Arrested In Sting Operation, Accused Of Robbing Hispanics

Blades on Friday was named in five counts of robbery, and in each count, court documents allege he used fear and intimidation as a police officer to carry out a robbery scheme. There are five victims named in the filing.

Court documents say Blades would sometimes direct victims to leave their wallets on the dashboard of the car and then take money. In other instances, he took victims' wallets from their person, documents say.

Blades was assigned to TPD's Gilcrease Division at the time of the robbery, police said. He was released from jail on $25,000 bond, but remains on suspension with pay.

Blades has been employed by TPD off and on since 1997.

TPD said last week it believes there are more robbery victims who haven't come forward because of fear. Those who believe they are victims of Blades are asked to call TPD at 918-596-9137.