Francis L. Butler, 72, of Muldrow was charged in July with two felony counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, felony fraudulent claim on an insurance contract, and false reporting of a crime. He is free on an $8,000 bond from the Sequoyah County Jail in Sallisaw. Butler's district court arraignment is set for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 28.
The charges against Butler stem from a theft report Butler filed with the Muldrow Police Department in September. Butler reported on Sept. 18 that his 2005 Chevrolet truck had been stolen the previous night.
An investigation by the Sequoyah County Sheriff's office led to the discovery of parts of Butler's truck at a home in the Rocky Point community north of Sallisaw. According to court records, a witness told sheriff's investigators that he was doing a roofing job in Muldrow when Butler approached him and said that he was a disabled veteran and that he could not afford his truck payments. Butler allegedly told the man that his lawyer told him to have it stolen so that he could get out of the payments. The man allegedly told Butler to park the truck in Low Gap and that it would sit for a while before someone would claim the parts. Butler allegedly followed the man to his home in the Low Gap area and parked the truck in the driveway and left the keys in it. Butler then allegedly requested the truck be set on fire.
During the man's conversation with Butler about the theft, Butler allegedly told the man that he had the truck double insured and that he would not lose any money on it.
According to court records, Butler told the insurance company and police that the truck keys were not in the truck at the time of the theft, but when the parts to the truck were discovered, the keys were in the ignition. Investigators confirmed that Butler's vehicle was also covered by an additional gap insurance policy, which pays the difference between the value of the vehicle at the time of loss and the amount financed by the lender. The amount of Butler's insurance claim was $29,500.
