Austin Allen arrested in connection with Newkirk; Braman burglaries

A Ponca City man was arrested after confessing to burglaries that took place at his place of work and at two other locations on the same day in Kay County.

Austin Dean Allen, 35, has been charged with three counts of second degree burglary and knowingly concealing stolen property. According to his arrest affidavit, Allen allegedly broke into the Braman Co-op, where he was employed, on July 4.

The Co-op had been closed for business July 4 to celebrate Independence Day. When employees returned to work July 5, they discovered that the glass on the door to the office had been broken out. They also discovered that $200 had been stolen from the company's cash register, according to the affidavit.

Kay County Sheriff's Deputy Casey Jenkins was called to investigate the burglary. While Jenkins was at the Co-op to conduct an investigation, he was contacted by Deputy Jacob Hopkins, who had taken a burglary report at the nearby Kelle Oil Company in Braman. According to the affidavit, video footage obtained from the Kelle company's surveillance cameras showed an adult white male with red hair and tattoos climbing into the business office through a window. The suspect was then seen “rummaging through the cash register,” according to the affidavit.

After obtaining the video footage from Kelle's, Jenkins showed the footage to an employee of the Braman Co-op, who “positively identified” the subject as Allen, according to the affidavit. The employee stated that Allen had been employed at the Co-op for three weeks.

Sheriff's deputies then contacted the Kay County Drug Court office, where employees were able to track Allen's location via his cell phone. Allen was enrolled in the program, which allowed the drug court office to track his whereabouts.

Deputies then went to Allen's location in Ponca City and placed him under arrest without incident, according to the affidavit.

When deputies arrived, Allen confessed that he had stolen property from the Newkirk Co-op on July 4. He then allegedly confessed to burglarizing the Braman Co-op and breaking into Kelle Oil on July 4.

Deputies were able to recover the stolen property from the Newkirk Co-op and return it. They were not able to recover the cash stolen from the Braman Co-op, however, because Allen allegedly told deputies that he “gambled” it away at a local casino. Allen allegedly said he was “unsure” of how he lost the money because he was high on methamphetamine, according to the affidavit.

Allen was booked into the Kay County Detention Center on July 5. His bond was set at $200,000.

Sheriff Steve Kelley told the Journal-Tribune that Allen's arrest was a “concluded effort” between law enforcement agencies and Braman citizens.

“We got help from the district attorney's drug court office. They knew how to track [Allen] down,” Kelley said. “It was a good effort from all involved law enforcement agencies and Braman citizens.”

Kelley added that security cameras helped deputies solve the case.

“Cameras help us do our jobs and make our jobs faster and easier,” he said. “I wish more people would get them.”