One nabbed in big tire heist here

 

One suspect has been arrested but police here are still trying to identify two others in the Feb. 27 theft of an 18-foot trailer and 40 semi tires from K&S Tires in Clinton.
William C. Smith, 34, of Oklahoma City, was originally listed as one of the suspects. Detective Capt. Mike Murley said Smith has since been arrested in Chickasha on a warrant issued in connection with the thefts here.
Murley said Detective Sgt. Ray Hammans is still trying to identify the two other suspects.
The trailer and 40 recapped tires that were stolen had a combined value of approximately $15,000. Smith was initially identified as a suspect with the help of GPS tracking equipment in a company pickup he was driving when the trailer and tires were stolen.
None of the missing merchandise has yet been recovered.
Murley said Smith had drug charges pending in Grady County where Chickasha is located when he was arrested.
The trailer and tires were stolen from a fenced-in area at K&S Tires, 204 Frisco Ave.
K&S employee Manuel Castro told Lt. Shane Harrelson he had looked at security video from the store and it showed a white Ford F250 pickup driving around the business the night of the theft. He said it appeared to be entering the fenced area before going out of camera view.
Castro also identified the pickup as possibly belonging to American Pipe Inspection of Tulsa. An employee there, Angie Nelson, was able to confirm that the pickup seen on the video did belong to the company and at the time of the theft it was assigned to employee William Case Smith.
Harrelson obtained GPS records for the pickup which indicated it was in Clinton near K&S Tires from 1:58 a.m. till 2:57 a.m. the morning the trailer and tires were stolen. After leaving K&S, GPS allegedly showed it going to the Lucky Star Casino at 4:09 a.m.
From there it traveled to Hydro, stopping there at 5:04 a.m. before leaving at 5:29 a.m. and going on to Oklahoma City.
Harrelson obtained video from Lucky Star which showed the pickup and the driver. After looking at it, Ms. Nelson allegedly identified Smith as the driver.
Another security video, this one from a Hydro convenience store, showed the pickup stopping there at 5:03 that morning. It was allegedly pulling a trailer loaded with tires and was being followed by another pickup.
Video indicates that sometime during the stop at Hydro, the towing vehicle was changed from the pickup that was pulling the trailer when it arrived to the one that had been following.
 

Clinton Daily News

522 Avant Avenue
Clinton, OK 73601
Phone: 580-323-5151
Fax: 580-323-5154