By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Drumright woman has admitted stealing copper wire from a Contango Resources oil well site in Ripley, damaging the company’s property by using a vehicle to hook onto and pull 165 feet of copper from the ground between two junction boxes, and also possessing two checkbooks stolen from a Creek County man, all on May 16.
Anna Delynne Henshaw, 33, who had been jailed on $25,000 bail since her arrest with her boyfriend at a relative’s residence on May 16 by Payne County Sheriff’s Investigator Brandon Myers, was released last week with an order to enroll in and successfully complete the Payne County Drug Court program pending her sentencing on Sept. 16 of next year.
Her boyfriend, Thomas Andrew Lumpkin, 31, of Cushing, who was on parole from prison when the pair were arrested, had been jailed on $50,000 bail until he pleaded guilty to the same charges last month and was released to the CAAIR (Christian Alcoholics and Addicts in Recovery) program pending his sentencing on Feb. 4 of next year, court records show.
The investigator wrote in an affidavit, “On May 16 at about 11:36 am, I was notified that a white Chrysler Town and Country van was seen between SH 33 and SH 108 on Ford Road in rural Payne County south of Ripley. The reporting person notified law enforcement that the van and occupants were seen near a large pile of copper wire that the reporting person thought was dumped there by the van’s occupants.
“The reporting person photographed the van from the rear, and a white male subject appeared soaking wet and out of breath while standing near the van,” which had a dealer tag and was driven by a white woman.
“On the same date at about 11:34 am, an employee of Contango Resources reported a copper theft at their well site, ‘The Cotton,’ located just east of Rose Road on Eseco Road. The lock on the gate had been cut, and when the well site lost power at 5:30 am, it sent a signal to the on-duty pumper. Deputy Bobby Miller responded to the well site.
“On the same date at about 12:14 pm, Lt. Daniel Nack located the white Chrysler Town and Country, stopping it on traffic at 44th and SH 108,” according to the affidavit. The only occupant was Lumpkin’s relative, who lived 2.7 miles from the well site, the affidavit alleged.
“I learned that Thomas and his girlfriend, Anna Henshaw, had possession of (the relative’s) van earlier that morning. I learned that Thomas and Anna were at (the relative’s) residence when she left earlier,” the investigator alleged in his affidavit. Lumpkin’s relative consented to a search of the van “where we found strands of copper wire and wire cutters,” the investigator alleged in his affidavit.
It was determined the copper wire on Ford Road was the wire taken from that well site early that morning, the affidavit said. “Pieces of copper sheathing were found in (the relative’s) residence’s driveway. A bundle of black copper sheathing was also found in a fire pit in the yard. The sheathing in the driveway and the sheathing in the burn pile are consistent with copper wire commonly installed on well sites in our area,” the investigator alleged in his affidavit.
“When the suspect pulled the wire from Eseco Road and onto Parrotte Road, the wire hit the stop sign, either breaking it off at the base or pulling it completely out of the ground. We collected the stolen wire as evidence and found it was still connected to a cable connected to a ball mount.
“The direction the wire was being pulled from would make it almost impossible for Thomas to get it onto his property due to the (northwest) angle of his driveway. The driveway is off Parrotte Road, just south of 9th Street. With the wire being pulled north, there was no way it could have been pulled into the drive, so he continued to Ford Road, where the wire was unhooked.
“Thomas and Anna were caught just before hooking back up to the wire to take it back in the direction where they could pull it onto his property. At this point, they abandoned the wire. I spoke with one of the foremen with Contango Resources. Thomas and Anna damaged the well site, and the damage is estimated to be between $30,000 and $50,000.
“Thomas is a seven-time convicted felon and 31 years old. Thomas is currently out on parole with the Oklahoma DOC,” the investigator wrote in his affidavit filed in May.
