Tyler Casey
(DOC file photo)
By Patti Weaver
STILLWATER — A 27-year-old ex-convict, who reportedly told police he needed help with rehab, has been accused of burglarized four cars and stealing a truck in the Teal Ridge neighborhood of Stillwater, all on June 30 — three months after he got out of prison.
Tyler Chand Casey of Stillwater, who was arrested on July 1, was initially charged with misdemeanor counts of using a credit card stolen in one of the car burglaries and shoplifting at a Stillwater Walmart on June 30, court records show.
Casey was subsequently charged with four car burglaries and a truck theft on June 30 in Stillwater in five felony counts punishable by as much as five life prison terms due to his prior criminal record. Casey remains jailed on $32,500 total bail pending an Aug. 4 court appearance on all of his cases.
Stillwater Police Officer Cory Westbrook alleged in an affidavit, “All of these burglaries appeared to have been committed in the same time frame and by the same individual. I was able to collect several videos and still frame images as evidence. In each surveillance video I am able to observe the same individual,” identified as Casey.
“I advised Casey that I would show him images of him where he was captured in the neighborhood going car to car attempting to break into vehicles as well as images of him,” in a Walmart store in Cleveland, Okla., using stolen credit cards, the Stillwater officer alleged in his affidavit.
“I then displayed an image of him standing within Walmart Supercenter (in Stillwater) with many items at the checkout where he utilized stolen credit cards to make purchases. He immediately responded aloud by saying ‘f…’ and put his head down…He then stated he was going down on everything and asked why we continued to ask questions, since we clearly knew it was him.
“Casey stated he was not employed and had no source of income. This should be noted as Casey was arrested in possession of $296. This money was seized as evidence as this is believed it belong to the third-degree (car) burglary victims in this case.
“We informed him of our desire to return the property to the rightful owners. Casey stated he did not have the property and could not be of help. He stated he needed help with rehab and wanted to talk to us at a later time.
‘Casey is believed to have entered the car on Pintail Street and cut himself leaving behind blood evidence,” so a sample of Casey’s blood was taken on a judge-issued warrant for DNA comparison, the Stillwater officer alleged in his affidavit.
According to court records and the state Department of Corrections, Casey had been released from prison on March 7 after serving one and one-half years, due to revocation of his probation after he was terminated from Payne County Drug Court in a 2018 third-degree burglary case. Casey had previously served two years of six concurrent five-year prison terms for attempting to elude and five counts of running a roadblock as well as possessing a stolen vehicle, all in 2019 in Payne County. Casey had also served about nine months of a concurrent two-year prison term for grand larceny in Noble County in 2019.
