Convicted burglar facing charges for OKC metro trailer thefts
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Oklahoma City Police have arrested a man accused in multiple successful and attempted trailer thefts across the metro.
Police arrested convicted burglar Michael Brown, April 29, after reports of attempted grand larceny and burglary at the Bella Storage facility in SW OKC.
Court records say Brown was caught on camera placing tape over a gate sensor and waiting until someone entered the facility to get inside.
"Most of your storage facilities will close after a code is entered," said Sgt. Dillon Quirk, with the Oklahoma City Police Department. "He was able to bypass some of that and have it remain open."
Documents say Brown was wearing a yellow bandana over his face and a light colored hat when he entered the facility, attempting to steal a trailer and a Bobcat that was stored in the yard.
News 4 spoke with Edgar Rodriguez on Thursday, who court documents name as a witness. He said the trailer that Brown is accused of attempting to steal was his.
"My trailer got his attention," said Rodriguez. "On my trailer, I have the electric jack. So he messed it up, and he also knocked down the lock for the hitch."
Police say Brown was unsuccessful with both attempts of theft despite the damage Rodriguez mentioned and left the facility.
"It was during the process of that attempt that officers were able to make the traffic stop on him and ultimately place him in a custody," said Quirk.
Court records say a search of Brown's vehicle resulted in the following items being found inside: the yellow bandana, light colored hat, lock picking tool set, bolt cutters, screw driver, flashlights, binoculars, radios, masks and numerous tags with tape on them.
Court records go on to say the unique features of Brown's Ford F-150 and surveillance video helped police connect him to previous successful larceny and burglary cases.
According to court records, Brown was able to steal a Road Force trailer an another Oklahoma City storage facility March 2. The trailer was valued at $12,000 with another $31,000 worth of equipment inside.
The court records from March 5 say Brown was caught on camera in the same Ford-150 stealing a 2022 Jayco Jay Flight travel trailer valued at $25,000. Documents said the trailer was later discovered at a SW OKC home and that interviews concluded Brown had brought the trailer to the location.
In an interview with authorities April 29 court records say Brown first denied taking the Road Force trailer, but was able to give officers specific directions to its location; and later admitted to stealing it.
Online court records show Brown already has previous burglary convictions in Cleveland, Logan and Oklahoma counties.
Brown is facing a count of attempted grand larceny, attempted burglary, two counts of grand larceny and a count of burglary.