(Stillwater, Okla.) — An ex-convict — who served prison sentences for methamphetamine possession — has been charged with shoplifting an equine headstall and attempting to sell it to a Stillwater police officer in plain clothes.
Jaysant Clint Northcutt, 43, of Perkins, has been released from the Payne County Jail on a personal recognizance bond pending an April 18 court appearance.
Northcutt attempted to sell to Stillwater Police Officer Adam Elliott — who was on duty in plain clothes — a leather equine headstall that was stolen from Stillwater Mill Agri-Center, court documents allege.
The officer was attempting to enter a downtown Stillwater drug store at noon on March 19 when he was stopped by Northcutt standing near the entrance, Elliott alleged in an affidavit.
“He asked me if I had a horse or knew of anyone that did. Northcutt then produced a leather equine headstall that still had the tags attached.
“Northcutt did not recognize me as an officer, and began telling me a story about the headstall. He stated that he and his girlfriend bought the headstall from the Stillwater Mill approximately one and one-half months ago for her nephew’s birthday.
“They were unable to make it to the nephew’s house and were now in need of money. He stated that he attempted to return it, but he lost the receipt and the Stillwater Mill would not take it back.
“Northcutt stated he was staying at a hotel and needed money for food. He showed me the price tag, telling me that the headstall was worth over $80. He stated that he needed money and would sell it to me for $60,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.
“I am familiar with Northcutt and have spoken with him in the past. I know he used to be involved in the use and distribution of methamphetamine.
“It is a common practice by those involved with methamphetamine use to steal merchandise from stores. They then return the merchandise for gift cards, which they trade for methamphetamine.
“The headstall was in very good condition and the tags were very straight with no wear. I showed Northcutt my badge and identified myself as a police officer for the city of Stillwater.
“He continued with the original story even after I told him it was unlikely. Northcutt then began walking westbound on 6th, still in possession of the headstall,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
After checking on the headstall at Stillwater Mill where the officer was told that none were presented for return on that day, the officer drove to the 600 block of W. 6th where he saw Northcutt attempting to sell the headstall to two men in a red Ford pickup, the affidavit alleged.
“I contacted Northcutt a second time, again asking him about the headstall. This time, Northcutt stated he never went to the Stillwater Mill, but called and asked about returning the item,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
“I asked Northcutt if I could take the headstall to the Stillwater Mill so they could scan it on their computer. He stated I could and voluntarily rode to the Stillwater Mill with Officer Stanberry,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
“The headstall in Northcutt’s possession was supposed to be still for sale in their store,” according to an employee of the Agri-Center, who scanned the headstall, the affidavit said.
When the officer reviewed surveillance video with the store manager, “I could clearly see Northcutt in the store wearing the same clothes he was currently wearing. He went to where the headstall was displayed, took it down and looked at it, returned it to the display and walked away.
“A short time later, Northcutt returns and removes the headstall from the display. He then crouches down in the aisle and appears to put the headstall under his coat. He then stands up and walks away,” without attempting to purchase it, the affidavit alleged.
After Northcutt was taken into custody, “He began arguing with the arrest, and telling me a different story about where the headstall came from. He now stated that it was given to him from someone named ‘T’,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.
Northcutt’s latest arrest occurred one week after he was released from the Payne County Jail following his sentencing to five years’ probation for shoplifting an MP3 player and bottle of Stetson cologne from Walmart on W. Sixth Street in Stillwater on Oct. 5, 2013, court records show.
Court records show that Northcutt got out of prison in December 2011 after serving about three and one-half years of a 10-year sentence after part of his 15-year suspended sentence was revoked in 2008 on five felonies:
* intimidating a federal Drug Enforcement Agency informant by putting his hands and fingers into the shape of a pistol and telling him, “you’re f…… dead,” on Aug. 31, 2005, in Stillwater;
* possessing methamphetamine on a traffic stop on May 2, 2005, in Stillwater;
* possessing pseudoephedrine pills with intent to manufacture methamphetamine on Aug. 22, 2005, in a case investigated by the DEA and Stillwater police;
* attempting to deliver methamphetamine on July 29, 2005, to a DEA informant in Stillwater;
* possessing methamphetamine on July 23, 2005, in Stillwater.
Northcutt also was convicted in 2001 of shoptlifting at Walmart for which he was sentenced to nine months at a mental health facility in Lexington, followed by probation for four years and three months, court records show.
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