Cleveland County Sheriff Issues Warning After Multiple Vehicle Thefts, One Burglary

The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office is issuing a warning to residents after receiving reports of at least three pickup thefts and one vehicle burglary in the last three weeks.

According to incident reports, the crimes were reported in either the northeastern or southeastern part of the county and happened between late night and early morning hours.

Deputies said the first incident was reported Dec. 28, in the 6300 block of Windridge Place in Slaughterville. A 2010 Chevrolet pickup, and its contents, was taken from a driveway.

The second and third incidents happened Jan. 9, near Lexington, authorities said. About 2 a.m. deputies said they were alerted that a 2005 Dodge pickup had been taken from the 13700 block of Lewis Road.

After a short pursuit, the truck was found abandoned in far-western Pottawatomie County, authorities said. No one has been arrested in the case, according to deputies.

Several hours later, deputies said they were notified about a vehicle burglary in the 15000 block of Edge of the Earth Road. According to the incident report, keys and a voice recorder were the only items missing.

Two days later, on Jan. 11, a vehicle theft was reported in the 16400 block of Timbers Drive near Oklahoma City, deputies said. The incident report showed a farm truck was stolen between late night Jan. 10 and early morning hours of Jan. 11, according to authorities.        

The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office said that in each of these cases the vehicles were left unlocked with the keys inside the truck cabs.

CCSO detectives want to remind everyone to be cautious and take extra steps to secure their vehicles and belongings. Here are a few crime prevention tips that detectives would like residents to utilize:

• Never leave vehicles unlocked for any reason
• Don’t leave any belongings in your vehicle including keys even if parked at home in a garage or driveway
• Always be aware of your surroundings.
• Crime can occur regardless of where you live. Never be complacent.
• Pay attention to vehicles and people in your neighborhood.
• If you see something out of the ordinary, don’t hesitate to say something. Dial 911 and report it immediately.

Sheriff Joe Lester said he hopes everyone will begin using these preventative measures immediately, to reduce their risk of becoming a victim.

“Our agency strives every day to provide the best law enforcement service to the citizens of Cleveland County,” Lester said. “That not only means responding to reported incidents, but doing everything we can to prevent crime as well.”

Anyone who has information about any of these crimes, is asked to call the CCSO tip line at (405) 701-8870, Crime Stoppers at (405) 701-8872, or send anonymous tips using the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office mobile app.