By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — Two young men from Cushing have been ordered to appear in court on Aug. 9 on felony charges of burglarizing the Allie P. Reynolds Stadium from which memorabilia was taken at about 3:30 am on June 24, according to an OSU police affidavit.
Champ Blaklee Wright, 21, free on $2,000 cash bond, and Evan Samuel Kennedy, 22, free on $5,000 surety bond, could each be given as much as a seven-year prison term and a $10,000 fine if convicted of second-degree burglary.
“Wright stated he and Kennedy were drunk on the strip and wanted to come and look around Allie P. Reynolds Stadium,” OSU Police Officer William Patterson alleged in an affidavit.
“Wright stated he and Kennedy took items from inside the stadium because he thought it was cool memorabilia and he was a wrestling fan. The items Wright referred to were still on the ground next to us,” when Wright was spotted, the OSU officer alleged in his affidavit.
“The items included several OSU Wrestling warm-up outfits, a framed picture of the 1974 OSU Baseball Team, a white wooden ‘Cowboy Wrestling Legend’ and an OSU poster,” the affidavit alleged.
“Wright was very forthcoming and cooperative throughout my interaction with him,” the OSU officer wrote in his affidavit.
“Wright stated he knew what he did was wrong, and he was ashamed. Wright stated he has never been in trouble with law enforcement before and he made a dumb mistake,” the affidavit alleged.
The OSU police officer had been patrolling the area when he “observed two scooters parked in front of the southwest gate of Allie P. Reynolds. Scooters are often seen parked at various spots on campus, at various times of night, so I did not think much of it initially,” he wrote in his affidavit.
“I went and parked my unit at OSU’s Indoor Hitting Facility, exited, and returned to Allie P. Reynolds Stadium on foot, just to double-check no one was there. I walked to the stairwell behind home plate and stood there, staring south at the gate where the two scooters were still parked.
“A few moments went by, and two males appeared walking westbound on the sidewalk along the south side of the complex carrying several items with them. I yelled, ‘POLICE, GET ON THE GROUND.’
“One of the males (later identified as Wright) immediately got on the ground by the entrance gate, and the other exited the gate and ran southbound.
“I advised all units one suspect was running south near Hall of Fame Avenue and Knoblock Street,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.
After contacting the suspect by phone, “Kennedy advised he was on the south side of Boone Pickens Stadium. I advised him to wait there with his hands in the air and an officer would pick him up momentarily.
“After several minutes, SPD Officer Boren located Kennedy and placed him in investigative detention near Matthews Avenue and West Street,” followed by the arrival of OSU police, who arrested him, the affidavit alleged.
