(Stillwater, Okla.) – A former Cushing man admitted to a Payne County judge last week that he had violated the probation he was given in 2017 in the theft of a forklift donated to Faith Church in Cushing.
Ron Christopher Robinson, 50, who spent the holidays in the Payne County Jail, listed his address as the Drumright Inn when he was released on a personal recognizance bond on Jan. 2, court records show.
Robinson had been arrested on Dec. 18, 2018, for failing to appear in court on a prosecutor’s application to revoke his probation. Robinson has been ordered to return to Payne County District Court on March 26 for probation violation sentencing by Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler.
When Robinson was originally sentenced in October of 2017, he was placed on five years’ probation except for serving 80 days in the Payne County Jail for larceny of construction equipment.
Robinson was ordered to pay $2,500 restitution, a $500 fine, $50 to the compensation fund, $960 as a prosecution fee and the cost of his incarceration.
At his 2017 sentencing, the judge also told Robinson that he must perform 40 hours of community service for a non-profit organization or 30 hours with the CLEAN program to pick up trash on county roads.
Cushing Police Officer Jonathan Hall had been sent on April 25, 2017, to Faith Church regarding the theft of a forklift that had been parked around the rear of the building, an affidavit said.
After Cushing Police Officer Rachel Hentges was contacted about the forklift’s location, she spoke to a man who provided the name of a Ripley business owner who took possession of the forklift, the affidavit said.
The Ripley man said he recently bought the forklift for $120 from a large man he knew as Ron, the affidavit said.
The Ripley man “told me that this forklift did appear to be in poor condition and he had the intent to scrap it before he noticed multiple parts had appeared to have been replaced,” the Cushing officer wrote in his affidavit.
Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Hopper “told me that this male was Ron Christopher Robinson,” the Cushing officer wrote in his affidavit.
On April 29, 2017, Robinson spoke to the Cushing officer at the police station about the forklift, the affidavit said.
“Robinson said that he observed a forklift on the right side of the dumpster while driving around town looking for items to scrap,” during the week of Cushing Trash Dash, the affidavit said.
“Robinson clarified that this is when the refuse service picks up all items needing to be disposed of, as long as they are at the curb line for pick up.
“Robinson told me that he believed the forklift to be non-functional and someone had left it near the dumpster to be picked up,” the Cushing officer wrote in his affidavit.
“Robinson said that he had this forklift hauled to his residence,” and sold it to the Ripley businessman for $100, the affidavit said.
“Robinson said that he scraps for a living and did not think the owners wanted the forklift,” the affidavit said.
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