Multiple burglaries solved

Sommer Woodward
Staff Reporter

May 12, 2008 09:34 am

— Investigators with the Mayes County Sheriff’s Office solved multiple burglaries, including a robbery of Willards convenience store in Locust Grove and another in Peggs.
Robert Justice, 24, Pryor, was apprehended after a day on the run when his vehicle was run off the road by the owner of a convenience store he burglarized in Peggs.
According to sheriff’s office reports, Justice abandoned his vehicle on May 6 and hid in the woods. He was seen
carrying a handgun.
A manhunt began, but was called off after a couple of hours because a helicopter wasn’t available and the tracking dogs were exhausted.
The morning of May 7, Investigators Chuck Ward and Charles Smallwood visited Justice’s sister’s house and arrested a girlfriend on warrants out of Wagoner County.
The girlfriend told Ward that Justice was hiding in or around the house and had a gun.
After a search of the property, Justice was found hiding under a Cedar tree. He was arrested and booked in the Mayes County jail. The gun in his possession was stolen from a home in Mayes County.
During a search of Justice’s car, investigators recovered property stolen from a burglary in Adair.
While in custody, Justice confessed to several burglaries and identified which property came from which burglary.
The investigation began when Justice’s car was identified from a burglary in Locust Grove. After discovering who owned the car, Ward and Investigator Albert McKee tried to contact Justice several times over a period of two weeks.
On Monday, Ward was contacted by investigators in Cherokee County that Justice was a suspect in the burglary of a convenience store in Peggs. During the robbery at the Peggs store, Justice allegedly drove his car through the front window to gain entry then took the cash register. The register hasn’t been recovered.
Cherokee County had information about where Justice might be staying, so Ward and officers with the Locust Grove Police Department were planning to head to the residence with Cherokee County officials. Justice was a suspect in the robbery of Willards store in Locust Grove. Justice allegedly broke the window with a rock and stole the cash register. The money and cash register from Willards was recovered.
Before officers could go to where Justice was allegedly staying, they received information that the owner of the Peggs convenience store had spotted Justice and chased him into Mayes County.
When Justice ran from his wrecked vehicle, the manhunt began.
Justice was charged with second degree burglary and knowingly concealing stolen property.
Ward said he anticipates other charges, but is waiting for more information.
On Thursday, Smallwood and Ward recovered four guns at a residence south of Locust Grove. Justice denies any involvement but identified the origin of the guns. The owner was contacted and identified all four guns.
With Justice’s arrest, a burglary in Salina, Adair, two outside Locust Grove and one inside Locust Grove were solved.