Sallisaw Police Officer Justin Smithson reported that on Sunday he was called to KOA camp ground regarding cables on the ground in the 1800 block of KOA Power Drive.
Smithson was directed to the east end of the property, which is the west end of the Cookson Hills Electric property, where Smithson discovered a hole in a fence with five or six small pieces of copper cable.
On Monday Smithson spoke to a Cookson Hills Electric employee, who said that cable had been strung from trash bins to the hole in the fence. The employee viewed video surveillance, which showed a car pull up to the main office building and two people get out of the car. The car drove west toward the campground, while the two men entered through a loose gate and walked west along the building to the trash bins, where they gathered about 100 pounds of copper cables. They then took the cable toward KOA, where the car was waiting on them. That is where the hole in the fence was made, Smithson reported.
Smithson later assisted Lt. Sandy Girdner and John Owens at a home on North Adams.
Owens reported that he was assisting Owens with an investigation of the burglary that had occurred at Cookson Hills Electric at about 1:16 p.m. Monday. Girdner asked him to meet her at a home in the 400 block of Adams, where the suspects were believed to be located.
Owens reported that he was previously informed that one suspect, Cody Rowell, had a felony warrant for his arrest in Arkansas. Rowell was handcuffed until the warrant was verified.
While talking with Rowell, Owens reported that he noticed bolt cutters, a piece of copper wire, two copper ground rods and several pieces of electric wire insulation in the back of a truck in the driveway. Owens also saw numerous pieces of wire insulation on the ground and driveway.
Police talked to residents in the home, Geneva Sisco and Kimberly Golden. While talking with Sisco, Owens reportedly saw a cigarette package on the ground near where he first made contact with Rowell. In the cigarette package was a glass smoking device with burnt residue and a plastic bag with white crystal substance. The substance field tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine, Owens reported.
A two-way radio was also located in the vehicle and reportedly belonged to the electric company, police reported.
Rowell was arrested. Sisco advised the home and vehicle belonged to her and gave consent to search. Owens reported seeing large pieces of electric wire, wire insulation, and a large kitchen knife with wire insulation on it in the home's garage. Sisco said she didn't know where the wire had come from. She said Rowell sometimes stayed at her home. She admitted that she had taken Rowell to sell the copper wire a couple of times, including that morning. She told police that she had no idea where Rowell got the wire. Golden had also reportedly went with the duo to a local salvage yard to sell the copper wire.
Both women were also arrested.
A local salvage yard employee said the market value for copper is between $2.40 and $2.75 per pound.
