Four burglary suspects allegedly working together in two vehicles were arrested Monday - two of them after a pursuit and short manhunt near Shawnee Twin Lakes and two from a traffic stop - thanks to the quick thinking of a deputy and teamwork by area law enforcement agencies.
The group of suspects also was linked to a second home burglary that occurred earlier Monday morning, but deputies are now worried about and are searching for a missing gun allegedly thrown out during the pursuit.
Pottawatomie County Undersheriff Travis Palmer said a burglary was reported at a home in the 35000-block of Hardesty Road, just west of SH 102, after about 8 a.m. Monday.
An occupant of that home had locked himself in a bathroom while four suspects burglarized the house.
"He did the safest thing - he was able to call and give us detailed descriptions," Palmer said, describing a pickup and car as they left the scene.
Less than 30 minutes later, Deputy Amanda Myrko spotted those two vehicles going northbound on Drummond Road between Lake and Independence, Palmer said.
The two vehicles split up, with the car turning west and the pickup going east. With knowledge that a gun safe had been taken in the burglary, Myrko decided to follow the pickup and told other law enforcement officers over the radio about the other car and it's direction of travel.
Myrko followed the pickup while awaiting some backup, Palmer said, but the driver apparently panicked and decided to take off at a high-rate of speed, at which time Myrko had a pursuit.
The chase went south from the Independence and Bethel Road area, where the pickup almost crashed into a game warden's vehicle, Palmer said. At Bethel and Lake Roads, the driver of the pickup went through the stop sign at 80-plus mph, Palmer said, with deputies becoming concerned about the school zones at that time of morning.
Deputy Jimmy Brewer stayed parallel with the pursuit and tried to deploy stop sticks, but the truck never slowed down at SH 102 and Clearpond Road, again going through intersections at high speeds, the undersheriff said.
"We're really fortunate there was no traffic on SH 102," Palmer said.
The chase continued another two miles to Magnino Road, where the truck turned north. As units converged on that area around Shawnee Twin Lakes, Palmer said they knew the occupants would have to flee the vehicle or give up because of the dead-end roads in that area around the lake.
Units stationed at Stevens Road, he said, where two men bailed on foot and ran.
Deputy Myrko, along with Shawnee Officer John Leathers and Deputy Brewer went into the woods on foot.
Within 10 minutes, one suspect was found in a creek, trying to conceal himself under leaves, Palmer said, while the second was located hiding behind a home on Stevens Road.
While all this was happening, McLoud police and a Kickapoo tribal officer responding to help with the pursuit came upon the car Myrko described and conducted a traffic stop of that car along SH 102.
The two men in that car met the description of the burglars, so they were detained and questioned. In the end, they were both arrested when deputies linked them to the other two suspects and property from the Hardesty Road burglary was found in that car. The occupant from the Hardesty Road home identified the pickup as the same vehicle leaving his residence, Palmer said, with deputies also matching tire tracks on both vehicles.
Four arrests were made. Palmer said Danny Arpoika, 30, and Louis Austin III, 26, were the two arrested following the brief manhunt in the woods. Arrested from the car in the traffic stop were Jerome Piggie, 28 and Pierre Whiteside, 34, he said. According to reports, two of the men were from Oklahoma City and two from the Chandler area.
All were jailed in the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center Monday night on complaints of first-degree burglary for the Hardesty Road case since the home's occupant was there, he said, and a second-degree burglary complaint for the incident at the Waco Road home.
Palmer said Austin, who was reportedly driving the pickup, also was jailed on complaints of eluding police and running a road block. All four are expected to make an initial video court appearance from jail today for setting of bond. Formal charges have not yet been filed, but the case will be turned over to the district attorney's office for consideration.
Palmer said the gun safe that was taken, which was apparently empty when it was stolen, was found along Post Office Neck Road, Palmer said. A gun bag and magazines, along with a laptop computer were found in the area of Clearpond and Magnino Road, Palmer said, but the homeowner didn't report a computer stolen.
That's when authorities received a report of another burglary at a home on Waco Road, with the found laptop computer being linked to the owners of that residence.
Palmer said they believe the four men burglarized the house on Waco Road, then the one on Hardesty, and were likely looking for a third when they were spotted by Deputy Myrko.
The stolen property from both locations was recovered, but there is one item authorities haven't yet found - a firearm - and they believe it was tossed out of the pickup during the pursuit.
"Our concern is that we're missing a 9 mm pistol having 18 rounds in it," Palmer said, adding deputies spent most of Monday walking and retracing the route of the pursuit and using metal detectors in hopes of finding it. The gun, while dangerous, is also a critical piece of evidence in the case.
"We're asking citizens to educate their children - if they find it to call us... do not touch it or pick it up," Palmer said.
The pistol is green with a camouflage finish, Palmer said, so it is difficult to see in the bar ditches or grass. Palmer said he, Sheriff Mike Booth and many other deputies were among those searching for the firearm Monday.
"We believe it is on the side of a road in a ditch," he said, adding none of the suspects are willing to talk and tell where it may be. Palmer said they've also notified Bethel Schools since children walk in many of the areas where the pursuit tracked.
Palmer said deputies as well as officers from Shawnee, Tecumseh, Absentee Shawnee, Kickapoo and McLoud, along with Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and a game ranger, were among those working the incident Monday morning.
In light of these burglaries, Palmer reminds homeowners to make sure they have serial numbers of their items. In the event they are stolen, those numbers can be put into a database that could aid in their items being recovered.
Watch for updates.
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