In the November 21 issue of The Madill Record, it was reported that a high-speed chase ensued near the Oklahoma/Texas state line at the Willis Bridge. In this specific incident, Colen Arnold – also known as Jay bird – allegedly ran from police, and wrecked the vehicle he was driving into a dirt mound. Unfortunately, Arnold escaped, however, police were able to arrest Rebecca Johnson.
Fortunately for police, the story does not go cold, and Arnold seems to like staying in the area, even though there was a $76,000 price on his proverbial head.
The trail might have dimmed for a few weeks, but it shone bright as the sun December 14, and the days following.
Marshall County Sheriff Danny Cryer thought that fateful Saturday would be like every one before, maybe even a little less due to him wearing a medical boot. However, when he and his family stopped for gas in Mead, it would prove to become an interesting Saturday drive.
Cryer said at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 14, he was in the rear seat of the vehicle when he overheard the driver speaking to somebody who was also getting gas.
“As I was relaxing, I overheard the driver of the vehicle I was riding in speaking with a voice that sounded strangely familiar to me,” Cryer said.
Cryer said he lifted up in the seat to get a view of the voice and was almost face-to-face with an elusive ‘bird.’
“I found myself within about three foot of Colen Jay Arnold, known to the Sheriff’s Office as Jay-bird,” said Cryer.
Sadly, Cryer was unable to make any type of physical arrest due to a recent medical procedure that put him in a medical boot. The sheriff might not have been able to chase Arnold, and the term chase is literal because he ran in the past, nonetheless, Cryer’s quick actions helped.
He contacted Deputy LaTasha Broadhead and asked her to contact the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office to inform them that Arnold was heading their direction. Before Arnold exited the parking lot, Cryer was able to snap pictures of him and the vehicle he was driving, which was a black truck with an empty car hauler attached to it.
On Monday, December 16, Cryer arrived to his office and was handed a copy of a B.O.L.O. (be on the lookout) that was put out over the weekend from the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office. The B.O.L.O was a heads up for a black pickup pulling a car hauler. The report stated the truck and car hauler had stolen a classic car from a neighborhood in Johnston County.
One of Cryer’s deputies forwarded him a picture of a Facebook post that was a type of B.O.L.O. asking people to be on the lookout for a black truck with a car hauler – the same set up that Cryer spotted Arnold in the Saturday before. The only difference, the Facebook picture had the classic car on the car hauler.
Once Cryer positively identified the truck and trailer as the one Arnold was in a few days prior, he contacted Johnston County Undersheriff Gary Dodd, and informed him of his encounter with Arnold. Cryer then forwarded the Facebook picture that was sent to him, and they both concurred that it was the same vehicle used in the crime.
While Cryer was trying to figure out ways to track the fugitive, fate smiled upon all parties involved. At approximately 6:00 p.m. on Monday, the Johnston County Undersheriff phoned Cryer to inform him that Arnold was arrested.
“I received a phone call from Under-Sheriff Dodd who explained to me that he had been working with the Bryan County authorities and after a short pursuit, they had just taken “Jay-bird” into custody near Durant.”
Once Bryan County arraigned Arnold for Eluding/Attempting to Elude, Possession of CDS – Meth, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Marshall County picked him up to answer to his outstanding warrants for the county.
Cryer said the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office has been searching for Arnold for quite some time.
“Since January 23, 2018, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office has listed Jay-bird as a suspect more than eight times in crimes involving stolen property,” Cryer noted.
Once Arnold was captured in Bryan County, then subsequently brought to Marshall County, his bond was reduced from $76,000 to $50,000. However, on December 20, Arnold was also charged with Endangering Others While Eluding/Attempting to Elude, and two counts of Knowingly Receiving/Possession of Stolen Property. These charges spiked his bond up to $100,000.
Cryer said the short list of items Arnold is accused of being involved in spans almost two years. In January 2018, a Skid Steer theft, May 2018, another Skid Steer, and in June of the same year, theft of a Pole saw and a set of hedge trimmers from the back of a truck. For 2019, Arnold is looking at the theft and sell of a flat-bed pickup, and the theft of a wrecker in March, the theft of an extended cab pickup in May, a pursuit ending in a wooded area in Marshall County in July, and the reported pursuit in November by Willis Bridge.
Not only is Arnold facing multiple charges in multiple counties, he has an extensive rap sheet. He has multiple convictions for Receiving/ Possession of Stolen Property, multiple convictions for Grand Larceny, Second-Degree Burglary, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Escape, Bail Jumping, Eluding/Attempting to Elude, Attempted Larceny of a Vehicle, Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon, two convictions for Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Selling a Vehicle with a Falsified Identification, two convictions for Possession of a Firearm After the Formal Conviction of a Felony, and multiple Possession of CDS convictions.