(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Cushing man who admitted stealing $130,000 worth of property from Submersible Pump Inc. and concealing other stolen property has been placed on probation after paying a total of $19,254 in restitution.
Gary Michael Beam, 43, was ordered to take a life skills program and perform 100 hours of community service as a condition of a five-year deferred sentence by Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler on March 21, court records show.
Two years ago, Mike Jones, the owner of Submersible Pump, reported that property was stolen from the business at 1800 S. Little in Cushing on June 23, 2012, Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Myers wrote in an affidavit.
Jones flew over Beam’s residence in the 4100 block of N. Battleridge and “observed one of the larger items at the back of this property,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
Jones contacted then-Cushing Deputy Police Chief Tully Folden, who relayed the information to the Payne County Sheriff’s Office, the affidavit said.
On the sheriff’s deputy’s request, Folden went to Beam’s property to secure it until Myers arrived, the affidavit said.
When Deputy Myers saw Beam at the front gate of his residence, “I asked Beam if he knew why I was at the location and he advised that Mr. Jones was accusing him of having his property,” which Beam denied, the affidavit said.
“Mr. Beam invited the other officer and me to look on the property. While I talked to Beam, other officers walked the property and found items that resembled the items missing,” the affidavit said.
Deputy Paul Fox described the items to Jones, who identified them as his, the affidavit said.
After Beam was arrested and taken to jail on June 24, 2012, “Beam admitted to stealing all the items from SPI,” valued at $130,000, the affidavit said.
They included a 2005 Spool Built two-axle gooseneck trailer with spool and cable, miscellaneous metal rods, miscellaneous tools and a 2008 Ford F5D flatbed truck, the affidavit said.
The following day, Payne County Sheriff’s Deputies Nick Myers, Tom Edwards and Paul Fox served a search warrant at Beam’s residence and outbuildings, an affidavit said.
A sawed-off shotgun in a gun case was located, Fox wrote in an affidavit. Also located were two other guns, a 30-30 and a K-Mart shotgun, which had been reported stolen from another man in April 2012, the affidavit said.
Officers also found trailer axles belonging to All Right Steel in Cushing, approximately 16 new tires, some belonging to All Right Steel, along with new white wagon-style wheels, Fox wrote in his affidavit.
Also found was an oxygen acetelyn torch set belonging to All Right Steel that had been reported stolen on June 25, 2012, the affidavit said.
During the search, a small baggie containing marijuana was found on an air-conditioning unit, the affidavit said. “In the same area, digital and gravity scales, rolling papers, and a rolling machine were located,” the affidavit said.
A felony charge against Beam’s co-defendant in the theft from Submersible Pump, Tyler William Couch, now 22, of Yale, was dismissed by the prosecution on June 14, 2013, court records show.
When Deputy Nick Myers talked to Couch in front of All Right Steel on June 25, 2012, “Couch explained to me that he knew I wanted to talk to him about being at Gary Beam’s house,” Myers wrote in his affidavit.
“After a short conversation, Couch advised he did help Beam with the theft,” of equipment from Submersible Pump Inc., the affidavit said.
Since Beam — who pleaded guilty on July 5, 2013 — was given a deferred sentence last month, he will not have a criminal record if he successfully completes his five-year probationary period.
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