Sallisaw Police Officer John Weber reported that on Sunday he received information that Murphy's USA convenience store, located at 1106 W. Ruth St. in Sallisaw, was going to be broken into between 2 and 4 a.m. that night. The gas station had been burglarized on two other occasions, Oct. 15 and Oct. 20, items stolen were estimated to be worth about $1,300.
As part of the investigation, Weber and Detective Sandra Girdner watched the business from separate locations at a distance, Weber indicated in his report.
At about 2:50 a.m. Girdner advised Weber that two people were walking along Ruth Street approaching the closed business. Both people were wearing hooded shirts and something over their faces. One was carrying a bag. The two separately walked around the business parking lot and re-grouped near the back of the building. One had a rock in his hand, and seemed to be waiting behind the business for traffic to clear. When the traffic cleared, one went to the side of the building with the rock, and looked around before hitting the glass window. It made a loud sound, and the suspect struck the window again.
Weber then approached the two and ordered them to the ground. Girdner handcuffed the male attempting to break the window, while Weber handcuffed the one in the rear of the building holding the bag.
During a police interview, one of the teens told police they planned to steal cigarettes from the store and sell them for money. He claimed he had never stolen anything from the gas station previously. The other teen told police that he had broken into the store two other times and had stolen about 25 cartons of cigarettes, selling them for $2.50 a pack. He allegedly admitted that he steals a lot of things, including the bandanas that he and the other teen were wearing to commit the burglary.
