One of several persons charged in connection with a chop shop operation has made his initial appearance and is set for the disposition docket in October.
Kaleb Burleson, 19, of Prague, was charged May 26 in Lincoln County District Court with operating/dealing with a chop shop, conspiracy and knowingly receiving or concealing property, all felonies.
When the charges were filed, a $10,000 bench warrant was issued for this arrest. Court records show the warrant for Burleson was returned and filed on June 1 and he made initial appearance on July 21 before Special Judge Emily Mueller.
She has scheduled him for the disposition docket at 10 a.m. on Oct. 7.
At the time Burleson was charged, formal felony charges were also filed in Lincoln County District Court against Kenneth Gale Simon, 37, and Whitney Kristine Harrison, 34, both of Prague.
A $10,000 warrant was issued for the arrest of Harrison and a $15,000 bench warrant was issued for Simon.
The warrant for Harrison was returned and filed on June 23, court records show. Her $10,000 bond remains and she appeared before Judge Mueller Aug. 18. She was ordered to reappear on Oct. 13.
The warrant for Simon was returned on Aug. 1 and he was ordered to reappear on Aug. 4. Court records show nothing else beyond that at this time.
Simon faces charges of operating/dealing with a chop shop after former conviction of two or more felonies, conspiracy after former conviction of two or more felonies and knowingly receiving or concealing stolen property after conviction of two more felonies.
Harrison is charged with conspiracy and knowingly receiving or concealing stolen property.
The conspiracy counts against the three accuse them between March 19 and April 8 of this year of conspiring and agreeing with one another and with Mick Vancurren, also of Prague, of conducting a chop shop and disassembling, dismantling, reassembling a motor vehicle known to be illegally obtained by theft in order to misrepresent the identity of the vehicle.
The information further states Vancuren, Simon and Burleson dismantled a Chevrolet truck stolen from KG Auto Sales in Shawnee at the property of Harrison.
Vancuren, 31, was charged in Lincoln County District Court on April 18 with four felonies in relation to the chop shop operation.
They include operating/dealing with a chop shop after former conviction of two or more felonies; conspiracy after former conviction of two or more felonies; pattern of criminal offenses after two or more felonies; and possession of stolen vehicle after former conviction of two or more felonies.
He was also charged with two misdemeanors, destroying evidence and obstructing an officer.
He made his initial appearance before Associate District Judge Shelia Kirk on April 18. She set his bond at $10,000. A pre-preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 23.
Vancuren has since been charged with two other felonies, one of which is intimidating a witness.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Lincoln County Deputy Cody Coleman and several other Lincoln County deputies and investigators, including Steven Hinkle, George Kelly Coleman, Larry Stover Sr., James Robinson, and Mark Kelley attempted to serve a felony arrest warrant through Okfuskee County on Simon at his residence at 352389 E. 1030 Road, in Prague in Lincoln County.
Cody Coleman had been advised of the warrant. When officers arrived, Coleman met with Harrison who advised him that Simon lived at the residence with her.
Stover reportedly interviewed Harrison, establishing she lived at the property with Simon but that she had just returned from work and she didn’t know where he was.
As the officers continued their investigation, a search warrant from the property and buildings was obtained. They located a number of reported stolen items, among them a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado stolen out of Pottawatomie County, a grey floor jack, sinks, door levers, lamps, a Cross Fire Pellet revolver, snub nose .357 replica and other items.