Two men have been charged with break-ins while a third is accused of receiving stolen property as part of a probe of recent local burglaries, according to Tallahatchie County Sheriff William Brewer.
Charles Michael Vest, 25, and Richard Nathanial Willis, 32, both of 929 Ruffin Road, Enid, allegedly did the heavy lifting and face the bulk of the criminal charges, said Brewer.
Vest is charged with two counts of grand larceny, burglary of a dwelling, malicious mischief and burglary of a building, car, etc. His bond was set at $80,000 by District 1 Justice Court Judge Jimmy Fly, the sheriff noted.
Willis is charged with burglary of a dwelling and grand larceny, with bond set at $40,000 by Fly, Brewer said.
Nicholas Martin Roebuck, 30, of 299 Pecan St., Pope, is charged with receiving or possession of stolen property, with bond set at $20,000.
One of the cases to which the three men are believed linked is the Jan. 31 burglary of the home of Wesley Brasher at 664 Oakland-Enid Road near Enid. During that crime, Brasher’s house was ransacked and numerous items were taken, including some that had belonged to his late father. Of greatest concern to Brasher was the theft of a brown plastic container that held a plastic bag filled with his father’s ashes.
Brewer surmised that the break-in probably occurred at night and the men grabbed the container without first bothering to look inside.
The recent arrests of Vest and Willis came after a Tallahatchie County employee on the job went by the pair’s residence and saw an item in the yard that was believed to have come from the unoccupied residence of a family member near Enid, Brewer explained.
“About the same time, Wesley Brasher reported seeing something familiar in a resale shop near Enid,” the sheriff added.
Officials rounded up the suspects and, in the process, recovered a few items that were reported stolen from the Brasher residence, including “some of the personal items that belonged to his daddy,” Brewer said.
However, neither the brown container nor its priceless contents have been found.
“It’s believed Mr. Roebuck took possession of the container, not knowing what it was,” Brewer said. “It’s believed he just wanted the container. We may not ever know the truth, but we’re still investigating.”
