Five persons have been arrested and face multiple felonies following a robbery at a grow house operation recently and five others have been apprehended and detained by ICE in a related incident.
Arrested and formally charged in Lincoln County District Court on Jan. 29, 2025 are Brian M Diaz-Maisonet, 30, Cheslesa, Mass; Anthony Estrada-Medina, 21, listed as homeless; Reginald Darnell Evans, 37, Charlestown, Mass; Larry Mondale Banks, Jr. 23, Boston, Mass; and Andy Nathaniel Pimentel, 24, Lawrence, Mass.
Each is charged with conspiracy, two counts of first degree burglary, one count of second degree burglary, one count of possessing firearm during commission of a felony and five counts of kidnapping.
Each first appeared before Special Judge Emily Mueller on Jan. 27. At that time, she set bond for each at $250,000. As a condition of bond for each she informed them not to have contact with the alleged victims, to surrender their passports, to consume no drugs or alcohol, to submit to random urinalysis, possess no firearms or weapons.
Each then made a formal initial appearance before Judge Mueller. A pre-preliminary hearing for Diaz-Masonet was set for 9 a.m. March 13, 2025 and for each of the other four their pre-preliminary hearings are scheduled for 9 a.m. on March 27, 2025.
Lincoln County Sheriff Kevin Garrett confirmed each of the five remains in the Lincoln County Jail.
Garrett explained this investigation began to unfold when a call came in at 1:19 a.m. on Jan. 24 from a male reporting the robbery of a marijuana grow facility at 339414 E. U.S. 62. He said there were five suspects who had tied the hands of all employees.
Garrett stated the suspects were armed.
Responding to the scene, he noted, in addition to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office were the Meeker, Stroud, and Wellston Police Departments, the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa, Kickapoo, Absentee Shawnee, Citizen Band Potawatomi and Sac and Fox Tribes.
The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics had a dog handler, and Lincoln and Pottawatomie County Emergency Management provided drones, he stated.
Garrett said one of the suspects was arrested immediately and the other four fled on foot. A perimeter was set up from 3390 Road, 1030 Road, 3400 Road and U.S. 62 going east from U.S. 177 on U.S. 62 for about a mile.
“We located all four and by 5:30 a.m. we had everyone located.” he said.
He said the next morning the OBN did an inspection by search warrant and the DEQ also was involved in the inspection.
The sheriff said that on Thursday, Feb. 27, the OBN did a second search warrant and his office assisted with that.
“We confiscated over 20,000 plants and 80 pounds of cultivated marijuana. ICE detailed and took away five suspects that were on the property. District 3 County Commissioner Lee Doolen provided three dump trucks to haul away the plants and they were destroyed,” he said.
Garrett added and stressed, “The key to all of this was the cooperation from all the various various agencies.”