Stolen Truck, $80,000 Worth Of Merchandise Recovered in Tulsa

Police recover close to $80,000 worth of stolen high-end outdoor furniture and grills.

The suspects were booked into jail Monday afternoon, accused of stealing the truck that held those items.

Chris Herron and Michael Parks face charges of larceny and possession of stolen property.

The furniture and grills were taken from Jack Wills Furniture on Sunday, but the merchandise has been recovered and returned.

"People don’t realize there is outdoor furniture that is hand-made.  This is a hand-made piece by an artisan in California," said business owner Jack Wills.

Wills says all of the items were locked inside a 26-foot truck on their property at 58th and Garnett over the weekend.

"We are just glad to get it back because all of these are sold merchandise.  People will buy stuff and get it in time for Memorial Day, which is coming up," stated Wills.

Investigators believe the thieves first drilled two holes into the back of the truck to make sure there were items inside.  Once they realized they had hit pay dirt, they had to find a way inside.  That's when they jimmied the door and got into the driver’s seat.

Unknown to the thieves, however, the truck had a GPS monitor.  Within hours, police were able to track it to a storage unit near 31st and 129th East Avenue.

“This all came together,” said Wills.  “The GPS tracking it here and cross referencing it, and now they got the guy.”

Wills says he doesn't know the suspects and they've never worked for him.

He says, "they literally go to commercial areas or industrial areas just looking for things to hit, so it's crazy, but this is gonna be a good ending."

Police say both Parks and Herron have lengthy rap sheets and they believe Herron was the ringmaster in this theft.