Between county lines

Not all crimes committed in Oklahoma play out in dark urban alleyways or on the thousands of miles of highways and byways crisscrossing the state.
Many times a secluded pasture, an old barn or a deserted country road are the scenes of crimes — and many times there are no witnesses.
Created in the late 1990s during the Keating administration, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture’s Investigative Services Unit has been filling in the gaps left by Oklahoma’s sheriff’s departments, police departments and various other law enforcement agencies for more than a decade now.
While their urban counterparts are busy chasing down drug dealers, child abusers and car thieves, the ODA’s investigators usually deal with cattle and farm equipment theft, wildfire arson and timber theft, which is a major problem in southeast Oklahoma, Col. Mike Grimes, director of the Investigative Services Unit, said Monday afternoon.
And according to Grimes, who took control of the agency in February 2007 after a career with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the business of fighting rural crime is a good one.
“Our case load continues to grow each year,” Grimes said. “Eventually we may have to look at adding more agents, but that’s up to lawmakers.”
Pottawatomie County is patrolled by Special Agent Jerry Flowers, who is also a statewide supervisor. Flowers said rural crimes in Pottawatomie County are slow right now, but that things can change.
“It goes in cycles,” he said. “Right now my busiest county is Logan County, where that cow was beheaded, but Pott. County could be busiest next month. You just never know.”
Flowers said the decapitated cow, which he feels was killed for its unique set of horns, is the biggest case going in his district. There is a $7,500 reward for information leading to those responsible for the cow’s death, he said.
“Horns are worth a lot of money,” Flowers said. “You can get anywhere from $200 to $5,000 for a set of horns. But so far, we haven’t got any calls with leads.”
Just like Tulsa Police officers or Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers, all ODA special agents are CLEET-certified peace officers and can “make arrests on any charge,” Grimes said.
And just like other officers of the law, Flowers said he spends plenty of time behind the wheel.
“Some of us drive 3,000 miles a month in our vehicles,” he said. “We truly cover the territory.”
Flowers, who recently retired from the Oklahoma City Police Department, also said rural detectives follow the same protocol — and have the same problems — as OHP and city police departments.
“Some times you don’t have any leads, no witnesses, not much to go on,” he said. “That’s why we canvass, to find anything that’s left out there.”
Statewide, Grimes said livestock theft is by far the biggest issue facing his team of investigators.
“The price of cattle is up pretty high right now,” Grimes said. “And a lot of the areas we work are rural and people tend to see them as easy targets, for whatever reason.”
Grimes said one head of cattle can net a thief around $600 and that many times the stolen livestock will be sold at an open market.
“They’ll do that or just sell the cattle to an individual or keep them for themselves,” he said. “That’s why we routinely check the markets.”
As for Pottawatomie County, its biggest issue is wildfire arsons — a crime wave that hit hard in the blazing summer of 2006, Grimes added.
Other than that, he said the county has only had seven cases under investigation since June 2007, including a livestock fraud case, three cattle theft incidents, a horse theft case and the theft of fuel.
To report any agriculture crime, call local law enforcement agency and the ODA’s Investigative Services at 522-6102.