By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Drumright ex-convict — jailed in Muskogee County on felony charges of theft and attempted theft of cars — has written a letter to the Payne County Court Clerk in which he described himself as “my own worst enemy.”
Roland Casey Roberts, 26, asked in his letter that he be returned to the Payne County Jail “for a fast and speedy trial” on his charges of burglary in Cushing and Yale.
“I have a long history of drug abuse having been given my first shot of meth by a loved one at the age of 15 and mental illness runs throughout my immediate family, but I am and always have been my own worst enemy.
“I’ve tried everything but turning my life over to the Lord and kicking my drug habit so that’s what I’m hoping to do thru probation and drug court if the Lord and the district court of Payne County allow it,” Roberts wrote in his May 14 letter, which was filed in Payne County court records last week.
According to Muskogee County court records, Roberts remains jailed there on $7,500 bail pending a July 11 preliminary hearing on felony charges of stealing a 2013 Hyundai Sonata and attempting to steal a 1979 Chevy Caprice on April 28 in Muskogee.
A Muskogee police affidavit alleged that at 11:30 a.m. on April 28 at 591 W. Shawnee in Muskogee, “Roland Roberts was located inside of a vehicle at the above address and had the vehicle on and attempted to leave the parking lot before the owner came outside. Roberts left the scene and ran from officers when he was located a few minutes later.
“Roberts refused commands to stop and was located a short time later through a K9 search. Roberts was also seen, through video at Walmart, leaving out of a stolen vehicle in the parking lot. Roberts was positively identified by the victim.”
Roberts has been scheduled to appear in Payne County District Court on June 27 on felony charges accusing him of:
* breaking into a 2007 Chevrolet truck parked in the 400 block of S. Kings Highway in Cushing and being a felon in possession of a shotgun on April 25;
* breaking into a building in the 800 block of E. Walnut in Cushing by opening a sliding door on April 19;
* burglarizing a building in the 200 block of N. B Street in Yale by breaking open a door on March 18.
Due to his criminal record, if convicted of those Payne County felonies, Roberts could be given a minimum sentence of six years on each count to a maximum of life in prison.
A court date has not yet been set on Roberts’ other Payne County charges accusing him of:
* possessing a stolen 2013 Dodge on Oct. 4, 2018;
* burglarizing a 2017 Ford truck parked in the 800 block of E. 4th in Cushing on April 25, 2019;
* stealing Nike athletic shoes from the 600 block of E. Oak in Cushing on April 10, 2019.
Roberts, who has also been known as “Pedro” and previously lived in Cushing and Yale, had apparently been released from prison last September, state Department of Corrections records indicate.
According to court records and the DOC website, Roberts had previously been convicted of:
* larceny of a motor vehicle in Payne County in 2012 for which he was given a seven-year prison term with an order to pay $900 in restitution;
* first-degree burglary in Payne County in 2011 for which he was originally given a seven-year suspended sentence that was revoked eight months later to about six years and three months of incarceration;
* second-degree burglary in Pawnee County in 2011 for which he was originally given probation that was revoked in 2016 to a five-year prison term concurrent to his Payne County burglary conviction.
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