A string of break ins results in multiple arrests. Stephanie Long, and a juvenile were arrested after a few incidents. A third suspect, Seqouyah Christie, is still being sought out.
Just after midnight on January 9, 2021, Madill Sergeant Andrew Adams was dispatched to Loves in response to an altercation. Once he arrived on scene, and employee approached Adams and produced a knife. She alleged that she removed it from a juvenile female during an altercation. The victim stated that the juvenile took it out of her sock and attempted to use the knife on the victim.
Adams then entered the store and witnessed two more victims holding the female juvenile on the ground, attempting to keep her from attacking them. The juvenile was visibly upset and was yelling and cussing. Adams then detained the juvenile and searched her for her wallet. Not only did he find her wallet, but he also found a Xanax bar on her person.
After detaining the juvenile, Adams begin to collect statements to sift through what took place. James Dowdy, an employee at Loves was working when Laela Hammons informed him that somebody was rummaging through his car. Hammons also told Adams that she witnessed two more suspects, identified as Stephanie Long and Sequoyah Christie take something from Dowdy’s vehicle and take off running. She also noted that before the duo took off, they sent the juvenile in the store, probably as a decoy.
Dowdy, Hammons and a few others attempted to stop the juvenile from leaving until the police showed up, and that was when she became extremely irate. Allegedly, the juvenile struck Hammons in the face and pulled the knife on her.
While Adams was collecting statements, OHP Trooper Rodney Davis advised him that he located Christie and Long, but they took off running down South Fourth Street. Davis was eventually able to detain Long, but Christie was still on the run.
Marshall County Undersheriff John Bridgeman located a purple backpack, which later was learned it belonged to one of the many victims of the theft spree. The backpack contained multiple credit and debit cards that were not issued to the suspects, loose chance, an iPad, marijuana, and several other items that appeared to be stolen.
As the other officers were on the manhunt for Christie, Adams read Long her rights. Long waived her rights and agreed to speak to Adams. Long claimed that she did not personally know Christie or the juvenile and that they were homeless. She said they were breaking into cars to survive.
After questioning Long, Adams attempted to identify the juvenile. She originally lied to Adams about her identity. According to Adams the juvenile told him that “her name was Mr. Justin Clemm because she was transgender and legally changed her name.”
She also lied about her age, claiming to be 18. Eventually, she fessed up and told Adams she was in fact 16, and her name. Adams attempted to locate her mother but was unsuccessful.
During the process, Adams learned the juvenile was a runaway and was actually in DHS custody. She had been missing since July 2020.
Once the DHS representative arrived, Adams got permission to ask the juvenile questions about the incident. The juvenile told Adams that she, Christie and Long found a car in Ardmore that had the keys in it, so they took it and drove to Madill.
Once in Madill, Long and Christie began breaking into cars while the juvenile was the lookout. She then gave accounts that matched up with what the evidence was pointing to.
The juvenile claimed that she blacked out when Dowdy approached her, however, she wrote in her statement that, “Hammons tried to grab her and she blacked out and tried to stab the victims.”
She also informed Adams that she “had a body on her.” Apparently, this translated to the fact that she was involved in a fatal drive by shooting in Tulsa in September 2019. She then changed her statement and claimed she “beat the case.”
Adams contacted the Tulsa Police Department, but there is no information on a case matching that description. The officers are looking into it but have yet to bring anything to the surface.
Wondering what to do with the juvenile, Adams contacted the Office of Juvenile Affairs, to which Adams was requested to turn the juvenile over to the DHS representative. Adams voiced his concern over doing that, because the juvenile escaped DHS previously.
He contacted Marshall County Assistant District Attorney Heather Cooper and she found the juvenile a spot at Canadian County Detention Center in El Reno.
While Adams was figuring out who the juvenile was and what occurred, other officers located the stolen car behind the Wildcat Carwash. More debit cards and social security cards that did not belong to the suspects were found during a search.
Long, an 18-year-old from Oklahoma City is currently facing seven counts of Third-Degree Burglary, Escape from Detention, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, Possession of Marijuana without a Valid Prescription, and Concealing Stolen Property.