By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 41-year-old Stillwater woman, who claimed she was looking for her missing dog when she was arrested by Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Secrest near a Contango Oil site off 19th and Vasser, has been ordered to appear in court this week with an attorney on a felony charge of entering an oil well site to steal copper.
If convicted, Amber Von Banning, who told the deputy she lives next to a church at Country Club and McElroy, could be given as much as a five-year prison term, court records show. She remains free on $10,000 bail.
The deputy wrote in an affidavit that at 7:01 am on May 24, he was on patrol “checking oil well sites in the area of 19th and Vasser due to a recent increase in oil well sites having copper wire stolen from them.
“I made it approximately halfway to the well site when a blue car came driving towards me from the site. I moved over and let the car pass. As it did, I observed it was driven by a white female, later identified as Amber Banning. I turned around and caught back up to the vehicle as it continued north on Vasser Road past 19th.
“As I approached the driver’s side door and window, I was able to see into the rear windows of the vehicle and observed two large bundles of REDA ESP cable, which is specialized and specific to well sites. The cables had mud on them that was still wet in some areas. There was a crude oil smell coming from the vehicle.
“I asked Amber what she was doing, and she said looking for her missing dog and began to tell me how she had checked several gates and entered several properties in the area looking for her dog. I asked Amber what was with all of the wires in her back seat, and she said her husband works in the oil field.
“I asked Amber why she was down on the well site, and Amber stated she had stopped at a house and asked if she could go back there and drove down turned around on the oil pad. I asked Amber for her driver’s license, and she stated she did not have one.
“Amber had stated she lives next to the Catholic Church at Country Club and McElroy. I asked Amber if she lived there, why would she think her dog was missing out here? Amber stated (her husband) raccoon hunts and took her Belgian Malinois to go hunting and lost the dog.
“When I asked Amber where the wire had come from, she had to think for a second and finally said she did not know while looking backward. As Amber was talking, I was able to see that she had dried mud on the palms of her hands. Amber appeared nervous and anxious.”
During a probable cause search of the vehicle, “On the front passenger floorboard, I located a pair of heavy-duty cable cutters with red handles with damp mud on the handles. In the passenger seat were a pair of leather work gloves and a headlamp. In the glove box were a small pair of angle cutters with red handles and vehicle insurance paperwork,” for the man she identified as her husband, the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
“In the back seat were two bundles of REDA ESP cables bundled with black tape. One bundle was round, and the other was oval-shaped and also smelled of crude oil. Under the cables was a black backpack with a hacksaw with a newer blade, an older bent hacksaw blade, two more pairs of angle cutters and other miscellaneous hand tools. Also in the bag was a partial roll of black tape like what was used to bundle the cables. The bag also smelled of crude oil.
“In the trunk of the car was another bundle of REDA ESP cable without tape keeping it bound together. On the driver’s seat, I found a piece of mail belong to Amber and a sales ticket from Ponca Iron and Metal Inc., which showed Amber had sold 181 pounds of #2 copper wire and 58 pounds of #1 copper wire for $758.30 on 5/22/24.
“Further investigation revealed there was damage to additional REDA ESP cables at the well site and two different shoe prints, one of which appeared to match Amber’s, as well as Amber’s tire tracks,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
