Prison bars with keys
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Stillwater woman accused of attempting to break into a neighbor’s occupied house by cutting a telephone line and power has been ordered jailed on $25,000 bail pending a Jan. 9 court appearance at which she can seek a preliminary hearing.
If convicted of attempted first-degree burglary, malicious mischief and obstructing an officer by giving a false last name, Heather Diane Randall, 35, could be incarcerated for as long as 14 years, court records show.
Stillwater Police Officer Justin Sappington was sent at 3:44 pm on the Monday after Thanksgiving to the 1000 block of E. Elm Street on a possible attempted burglary, his affidavit said.
The resident said that she had video of someone trying to break into her house at 12:34 pm after cutting the telephone wires connected to her security cameras, the affidavit said.
The resident “pulled up the video from her security cameras using the Vivint command pad on the inside of her house. I observed several videos, all of which showed Randall in the back yard. Randall was wearing large sunglasses, a wide dark headband, jeans and a black jacket with a circular emblem on the chest.
“The video showed Randall entering the back yard and stopping to look at the camera on the eave of the house. The camera system, that (the resident) has installed, sounds an audible alarm when it detects motion. The camera then displays a bright red light and begins recording.
“The audible alarm and light caused Randall to stop and look directly at the camera system. Randall pointed toward the camera for a moment and then approached the back of the house.
“Randall pulled a telephone wire away from the house and cut it with what looked to be a knife in her hands. Randall then approached the back door and began to turn the knob. Randall tries to turn the knob for a while and then the video looks as if she is prying on the door. Randall then sees an exterior fuse box at the rear of the house and opens it.
“Randall then turned off several of the breakers to the residence, which caused a loss of power to the bottom floors. Randall also walked to the side of the house and turned off a main power switch. Randall then walked around the side of the house, then back to the rear of the house, then exited through the back yard,” the affidavit alleged.
“I went into the back yard and observed the telephone wire below the camera was cut and pulled away from the wall…It should be noted that (the resident) was inside the residence while Randall was attempting to gain entry through the back door and disable her security system,” which the resident estimated would cost $500 to repair, the Stillwater officer alleged in his affidavit.
“I walked back inside and began viewing the video footage again when (the resident) observed a female walking near the intersection of Berry and Burdick. The female was wearing a dark jacket, jeans and had on a wide headband,” that matched the description of the suspect on the video, the Stillwater officer alleged in his affidavit.
“I approached the female in the 100 block of S. Burdick. I asked her name and she responded with Heather. I asked Randall why she was trying to break into (the woman’s) house. Randall denied trying to break into the house and cutting the camera wires. I told Randall that it was obviously her, and she was caught on camera. Randall continued to deny any involvement,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
When the officer asked her full name and date of birth, Randall gave a false last name, the affidavit alleged. “Randall stated she couldn’t remember her full middle name or her date of birth,” the affidavit alleged.
“Communications later discovered that her true name was Heather Diane Randall and her date of birth,” the affidavit said.
