By BOB GIBBINS
Press Staff Writer
July 02, 2009 01:22 pm
—
A Cherokee Nation marshal said Wednesday two women were jailed last weekend in connection with the recovery of a stolen vehicle.
Marshal Donnie Bowin said a warrant is being sought for a third suspect, a male, who was allegedly driving the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe when it crashed on a dirt road between Tahlequah and Stilwell. Bowin said reports have been turned in to the DA’s office for review and filing of charges.
Cherokee County Detention Center Administrator Loyd Bickel said Racheal Erin Thomas, 20, and LeAnn Rose McKee, 21, were booked on possession of stolen vehicle charges. Bowin said both women told authorities they knew the Tahoe, owned by Dana Eversole, was stolen.
Bowin said CN Marshal Brian Catcher was enroute to Tahlequah from Stilwell, when he heard reports of the stolen vehicle being broadcast by Tahlequah police. He said Catcher saw a vehicle matching the description in the Eldon Hill area headed toward Stilwell.
“He [Catcher] turned around on it and started following it,” Bowin said. “He confirmed it was the stolen vehicle and asked for assistance from other agencies.”
Catcher continued to follow as the vehicle turned onto a gravel road. Bowin said Catcher stayed well behind the vehicle, because it was making conditions quite dusty by driving fast down the dirt road. He said the man eventually wrecked the Tahoe and fled the scene on foot.
Eversole told Tahlequah police the Tahoe was in her garage when it was taken.
Cherokee County court records show Thomas is on probation in Cherokee County on a knowingly concealing stolen property charge.
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