(Stillwater, Okla.) – A woman who admitted her role in setting fire to three cars in a Cushing driveway has been ordered to pay $16,909 restitution jointly with her two co-defendants as part of a plea bargain to be placed on probation for five years under a deferred sentence.
Taylor Janice Lindsay, 21, of Meeker, must take an anger management course and perform 100 hours of community service within 12 months, Payne County Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler ordered on May 15, court records show.
In pleading guilty to three counts of third-degree arson, Lindsay wrote, “I helped my friends set fire to a car, which ended up catching two more cars on fire,” court records show.
Her co-defendant, Cody James Standlee, 25, of Meeker, who had also pleaded guilty, was given a 30-day jail term followed by probation for six years and 11 months, along with an order to jointly pay $16,909 restitution with his co-defendants, court records show.
Standlee was also ordered on May 1 to pay the cost of his incarceration, take an anger management course, perform 50 hours of community service and pay $350 in fines and assessments, court records show.
Another co-defendant, Randy Mack Richardson, 26, of Agra, who had pleaded guilty, is related to the owner of the cars, court records show.
Richardson was ordered on April 24 to jointly pay $16,909 restitution with his co-defendants and perform 100 hours of community service within a year, as part of a plea bargain to be placed on probation for five years under a deferred sentence, court records show.
The prosecution had dismissed all charges on July 9, 2014, against another co-defendant, Landon Wayne Vaughan, 22, who now lives in Mannford, court records show.
Cushing police had received a 911 call of a vehicle fire in the 300 block of E. Vine Street at 1:36 a.m. on July 10, 2013, court records show.
One car was a total loss, while the other two were damaged, a police affidavit said.
Fire investigator Tyler Morris said, “the exterior scene findings indicated a trail of ignitable liquid was used to ignite the vehicles,” the affidavit said.
The owner said “she thought that someone had intentionally burned her vehicles,” the affidavit said.
The fire happened across from a parts store which had security footage showing “the ignition of the fire and what appeared to be two shadowy suspects in white T-shirts and shorts,” the affidavit said.
Security footage at Walmart on Main Street in Cushing showed that three males and a female bought a five-gallon red gas can, gloves and soda at 12:30 a.m., the affidavit said.
Security footage at a Main Street convenience store showed a female wearing a peach shirt and purple hat arrive inside the store at 12:52 a.m. and buy gasoline, the affidavit said.
Two months later, Cushing Police Sgt. Adam Harp, who is now deceased, assisted the Cushing fire investigator with interviewing the suspects, the affidavit said.
Richardson said “he wanted to be honest about what had happened,” Harp wrote in an affidavit.
Richardson said that his little brother had threatened to shoot him, “so he and Cody Standlee, Landon Vaughan and Taylor Lindsay all went to Agra to fight him,” the affidavit said.
Richardson said when they got to the Agra location, his relative “slapped Taylor in the face,” the affidavit said.
Richardson said they left in Lindsay’s green Honda, went to the Agra convenience store, then drove to the Cushing Walmart “where Taylor and Cody bought a gas can, glass bottles and gloves,” the affidavit said.
“Randy said that he asked Taylor and Cody what the items were for and they said they were going to burn down (the woman’s) house,” which he said he told them not to do since they have children inside, the affidavit said.
“Randy said that he told them he wasn’t going with them because he didn’t want to get into trouble. Randy said he took Taylor’s car while Cody, Taylor and Landon all walked over to (the woman’s) house with the gas can,” the affidavit said.
“Randy said that he parked the car at the motel at Little and Main until they called him. Randy said that after they called him that he picked them up at the bar,” near the woman’s house, the affidavit said.
“Randy said that when Taylor and Cody got into the car that they told him that they had burnt the car instead of the house,” the affidavit said.
“Randy said that Cody said he poured the gas and that Taylor lit the gas causing the car to catch on fire. Randy said that they all went back to Meeker, Oklahoma, after the arson,” the affidavit said.
When Vaughan was interviewed, he said that before the incident “a female slapped Taylor and that after the assault she made the comment that she wanted to burn that b….’s car down,” the affidavit said.
Vaughan said that Richardson knew where the woman lived “so he dropped him, Cody and Taylor off down the road,” the affidavit said.
Vaughan said “he hid behind the building and did not see what really happened. Landon (Vaughan) said that Cody told him that he covered the car in gas and that Taylor made the comment that she lit the gas,” the affidavit said.
Vaughan said “after the arson that they all went back to Meeker, Oklahoma. I asked Landon (Vaughan) whose idea it was to burn the car and he said Taylor,” Harp wrote in his affidavit.
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