(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Perkins man who admitted committing a string of property crimes as well as methamphetamine possession has been placed on probation for seven years — with an order to enroll in and successfully complete the Payne County Drug Court program.
Prosecutor Debra Vincent told District Judge Phillip Corley in court last week that she and defense attorney Virginia Banks both believed that Jason Leroy Wells’ crimes were due to his drug problem.
Wells, 24, had written in an application for a court-appointed attorney that he was last employed at a fast-food restaurant in Stillwater for a month and left in November 2013 due to being “strung out on meth.”
In court Friday, Wells pleaded guilty to two counts of automobile burglary, three counts of knowingly concealing stolen property, one count of methamphetamine possession and two counts of second-degree residential burglary.
As part of a plea bargain with the prosecution for Drug Court, Wells was given a 90-day jail term Friday with an order to pay $2,950 in restitution and $1,000 in fines and assessments. Since he was given a deferred sentence, Wells will not have a criminal record if he successfully completes his probation.
Wells was initially arrested on July 1 after a search warrant was served at his then-apartment in Stillwater where methamphetamine and various items of stolen property were found, Stillwater Police Detective Cody Manuel wrote in an affidavit.
Wells admitted to burglarizing a woman’s vehicle that was parked in front of her residence in Stillwater on May 30 and stealing her iPad, which was tracked to Ponca City and recovered from a woman who said she bought it from Wells in Stillwater, the affidavit said.
“He also admitted to burglarizing a vehicle the prior night and stealing the backpack, school supplies and textbook,” the affidavit said.
During a search of his apartment, “numerous items of drug paraphernalia including needles, baggies, spoons and a snorting straw were located on and inside a nightstand next to a bed where Wells had been sleeping. One of the baggies field-tested positive for methamphetamine,” the affidavit said.
A tool bag, various tools and a pistol magazine that were stolen during another auto burglary in Stillwater which was reported on June 28 were found in Wells’ apartment, the affidavit said.
Ice skates stolen during another auto burglary in Stillwater that was reported on June 20 were found in Wells’ apartment, the affidavit said.
A backpack, school supplies and a textbook stolen in another auto burglary in Stillwater that was reported on July 1 were found in Wells’ apartment, the affidavit said.
Another backpack with miscellaneous contents and a portable breathalizer stolen during another auto burglary that was reported on July 1 were found in Wells’ apartment, the affidavit said.
Clothing stolen on June 30 from a laundromat at a Stillwater apartment complex were found in Wells’ apartment, the affidavit said.
Less than three weeks after Wells was initially freed on $15,000 bond on two counts of auto burglary, three counts of concealing stolen property and one count of methamphetamine possession, Wells broke into two Stillwater residences on July 26, he admitted in court Friday.
Wells was re-arrested and jailed on Aug. 21 after he failed to appear in court on Aug. 13 on that six-count felony charge filed in July, court records show.
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