Murder Suspect Arrested After Police Respond To Burglary Call In East Tulsa

Three schools were put on lock down Thursday afternoon, as police searched for two suspected burglars in an east Tulsa neighborhood.

Police say they have the two men behind bars and a Tulsa woman has a story she'll never forget.

Police say it was in the 11,000 block of East 15th Place that they received a call about a home break-in from neighbors in the area. When they surrounded the home, police say the two suspects ran away and then a 20-minute search ended in one woman's back yard.

"I am actually freaking out. I mean, who does this? Does this happen on an everyday basis?" Jalesa Resendiz said.

Like many of her neighbors, Resendiz couldn't help but wonder what was going on when she saw her home on Osage SkyNews 6, and saw police cruisers combing the neighborhood. She said hearing that officers were searching for two men wanted in a home burglary, just up the road, made her feel more than uneasy.

10/28/2013 Related Story: Tulsa Police Make Arrest In Murder In Motel Parking Lot

"I've got a baby on the way. I'm four months pregnant, going on five. I've got a son at school. My husband is gone," Resendiz said.

Luckily, she was with her pit bull named Symba.

"When he started barking and growling and doing his little stance, I knew something was wrong," she said.

Resendiz said her dog was pawing at the shed he sleeps in, in the back yard. She said, against her better judgment she looked inside.

"Just right under that, I couldn't believe it," Resendiz said. "I said, 'Hey, I can see you breathing, you can untuck your face, I'm not the cops.'"

Resendiz said she and the suspect, Chauncey Thomas, 30, talked for more than a minute.

She says Thomas begged her not to tell the cops, even offered to pay her off.

"I came back out here with my dog and I told the cops that were out here. I told them, 'Hey, he's in my shed. I told him I wouldn't tell you, but this is an easier way, this way he won't see you coming.'"

Police were able to end one half of their 20-minute search after putting Thomas in handcuffs.

Resendiz said it was tough lying to the man, but those emotions quickly went away when she heard he was wanted in a murder investigation.

"And you don't even know what they're actually wanted for, and they're like, 'He's wanted in a homicide.' And you're like, 'Get him out now, please,'" Resendiz said.

TPD said officers completed an affidavit early Thursday to seek a warrant for Thomas' arrest for the Oct. 27 murder of Monte Foreman. The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office had the affidavit at the time officers located Thomas in the burglary call.

Joshua Rogers was previously arrested for involvement in the murder.

"Both Rogers and Thomas are accused in Foreman's murder and we do not anticipate any other arrests in this case," TPD Sgt. Dave Walker said in a statement.

Police arrested the man they believe to be Thomas's partner in crime, 18-year-old Kendall Wallace, a short time later.

Police say both men tried to run from the home with stolen items, but ended up scattering them all over the neighborhood.

In addition to Thomas being wanted in a homicide investigation, police say Wallace is well known in TPD's burglary unit.

Wallace was booked into jail Thursday on complaints of second degree burglary, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest.

Jail records show Thomas was also arrested Monday, on complaints of carrying a concealed weapon and improper stop on a roadway. He was released the same day on $1,100 bond.

He's now being held on complaints of first degree murder, second degree burglary and resisting arrest.