A husband and wife were arrested on Monday evening after the Logan County Sheriff’s GPS tracked bait trailer was moved from an intersection and parked outside a home.
Logan County Deputies responded to 9050 Charis in Cashion just after 6:30 p.m. and spotted the bait trailer parked next to a shed and a 2011 Chevrolet pickup in the driveway.
The trailer had been parked at an intersection on Highway 74 for approximately four weeks.
In the probable cause affidavit, Derek Allen Payne, 33, of Crescent admitted he had picked up the trailer at the location with his truck after seeing the trailer at the location for over a month. He suspected the trailer was abandoned, stolen or dumped and his intention was to post the trailer on Facebook in hopes of locating the owner.
Payne was arrested and charged with grand larceny.
Payne’s wife, Charice Payne, 27, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of an officer after becoming resistant toward deputies.
Derek Payne posted a $7,500 bail and is expected back in court on Aug. 27. Charice Payne pleaded not guilty and made a $1,000 bail.
The tracking system is made possible through small GPS tracking devices that can be placed on a trailer, tractor or other agricultural implements can be permanently mounted in a vehicle. The GPS devices send immediate messages to the Sheriff’s Office and to designated deputies and supervisors so that the team can mobilize quickly to apprehend the thieves.
In 2012, Sheriff Jim Bauman put a plan in motion to develop and deploy an actual bait car similar to the ones used on TV shows such as Bait Car and Jacked. The Logan County bait car is equipped with the GPS tracking system, infrared audio and video recording and a remote control system that allows deputies to remotely kill the ignition on the vehicle to avoid dangerous vehicle pursuits.
This bait car system was developed to respond to a noticed increase of stolen vehicles and auto burglaries at the time. The Bait Car was stolen the first day it was placed in 2012, ending in the arrest of two juveniles that were linked to gang activity in Midwest City and Bethany. The resulting investigation resolved several auto burglaries, recovery of several stolen firearms and stolen vehicle cases from these jurisdictions.
Good job LCSO!
On one hand I’m glad it helps, but on the other hand…somewhere along the line we have forgotten that entrapment techniques by the police to entice criminal activity is also illegal.
If you can set a trailer on the side of the road for a month before someone considers taking it, you don’t really have a problem with people stealing abandoned trailers on the side of the road.
I don’t think the guy deserves the charges based on the information in this story. What the Sheriff did just seems mean.
Moral of the story: If there’s a trailer on the side of the road for a month, it belongs to the cops, because nobody else can get away with leaving a trailer on the side of the road for a month.
Well as nice as it is to hear that story, I sure wish logan county sheriffs could find my pick up truck that’s been missing for a month and a half!