WAGONER COUNTY, Okla. — A man was arrested following several recent burglaries in Wagoner County and surrounding counties.
On Oct. 5, Wagoner County deputies assisted Rogers County deputies in the recovery of stolen property.
Deputies went to a residence bordering Rogers County to search for the stolen property. They didn’t locate anything at that location but received additional information there that led them to another residence in Rogers County.
The Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office said an investigator flew a drone and located a truck and trailer in a field. Deputies obtained written consent to search the property and a 2011 Chevy pickup truck and trailer were found. A search of the serial numbers of both units confirmed both were stolen items.
Additional information was obtained at this scene that led deputies to another nearby location, where deputies found a stolen zero-turn mower that had been stolen out of Broken Arrow.
All items were recovered by the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office.
After recovering the stolen property, deputies also recovered suspect information in a Wagoner County burglary that occurred at Sanders Nursery on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5, the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office said.
“Additionally, Deputy Sieg utilized the Wagoner County FLOCK ALPR system to assist with the investigation,” the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office said. “After digging through hours of video, a small piece of evidence was collected that led to Deputy Sieg discovering significant information leading deputies to a residence near Coweta.”
One of the vehicles used by the suspect, who was believed to be directly involved in the burglary, was located.
On Oct. 7, Wagoner County deputies executed a search warrant in the Coweta area of Wagoner County.
Deputies and investigators located two vehicles used in the burglary and a stolen welder.
The suspect was identified as Nicholas Cotton.
Cotton was taken into custody by the Tulsa Police Department without incident on Nov. 5.
He was transported to the David L. Moss Detention Center and booked.
Cotton was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and larceny of merchandise from a retailer.
Cotton has a hold placed on him by the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office and will be facing charges of grand larceny, burglary, and theft of fuel.
It’s suspected that additional felony charges will be added for Wagoner County, Coweta, and Rogers County.
These investigations are ongoing. Officials expect there could be other possible suspects.
“I am very pleased with how much work and effort the deputies and investigators put into this case,” Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott said.” We were able to quickly identify a suspect and recover stolen property from multiple jurisdictions. As Sheriff, my deputies will continue to aggressively pursue criminals that victimize the Wagoner County community.”