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July 27, 2009

‘Professionals’ make off with $51K in Rent-a-Center merchandise

Police process recovered van for clues

By Donna Hales

Muskogee Police were seeking evidence Monday from a van reported stolen from Rent-a-Center here and found in Tulsa.

Investigators believe the van was used to cart away $51,700 in flat screen TVs, game boxes, and other items from the store at Lakeland Shopping Center, said Lt. Bobby Lee.

“We’re processing it for fingerprints and anything that may be left behind,” Lee said.

The items were taken either the night of July 21 or the next morning. Police have the serial numbers of the stolen items.

The empty $18,000 van was noticed Friday at the Windsor Village Apartments in Tulsa, off 51st Street and Yale Avenue, said Muskogee Police Sgt. Bryan Farmer.

The burglary was strictly a professional job, Lee said. They broke in by drilling around the door frame by the deadbolt.

The burglars knew where the alarm was and disabled it, Lee said.

“We learned another Rent-a-Center in Oklahoma City also was burglarized recently,” Lee said. “We don’t know if the burglaries are connected.”

The burglars rummaged through some desks, files and customer records, but it doesn’t appear they took anything from those areas, Lee said.





Reach Donna Hales at 684-2923 or dhales @muskogeephoenix.com.

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