A couple was in the process of moving to a farm south of Helena when they were involved in an auto accident. This left them unable to work on the property for several weeks. A neighbor contacted them to say it appeared someone broke into their property and items were possibly missing.
On March 12 about 3 a.m. Ronna and Roderick Vance contacted Alfalfa County Sheriff’s Deputy TJ Rockenbach, and they met at the property on Beckham Road.
The Vances said they had many items stored in a large metal shed on the north side of the property. They also moved a house onto the property and that was being used for storage. There was a trailer house on the property, previously occupied by one of their daughters, but it had been vacant for some time. The trailer house was being used for storage. There was also a camper trailer on the property used for storage.
Ronna Vance said someone had broken into the metal shed and took several items. There were items stored inside the house that were missing. Rockenbach went to the metal shed and saw the walk-in door on the south side of the building had been damaged and pried open. A large sliding door on the west end of the building had been left open. Because it was dark and there were many items stored inside, Rockenbach could not safely make access.
Ronna Vance said the camper trailer sitting near the trailer house had been broken into with the contents thrown around and several items left on the ground outside near the camper. The Vances said they had been on the property approximately three weeks earlier. At that time the metal shed and camper were locked. Rockenbach took down their contact information and said he would return during the day when he could see better.
About 5 p.m. Rockenbach returned to look for items the Vances thought were missing. Ronna said neither she nor Roderick were physically able to walk through and survey everything due to still recovering from their accident. They had looked around enough to have some idea of what was missing. Ronna said there were two or three five gallon buckets containing uncirculated US silver dollars and Canadian silver coins with a maple leaf on them that were missing from the shed as well as a portable generator and possibly other items. She said the value of the coins was approximately $20,000 to $30,000.
Ronna said they were storing several guns in the attic of the house, but when Deputy Rockenbach looked where she described, there were no guns. From the camper, Ronna said they were missing a .9 mm pistol, a new pressure cooker and a 35 mm camera. Also missing from the camper was a box containing several prescription medications that she had from the car accident.
Ronna named several individual who would have known about the items being stored at the farm. Over the next several weeks, the Alfalfa County Sheriff’s Department received additional reports from the Vances about more items stolen from the farm.
Ronna’s daughter Rhonda Vance Pike contacted Deputy Rockenbach and advised she had posted on social media about the thefts and offered a $1,000 reward for information. She received information from several individuals about possible suspects involved. She shared this information with Rockenbach who contacted Detective B. Schwarzkopf with the Enid Police Department since the individuals named all lived in Enid.
According to Rockenbach’s affidavit on file, around Aug. 1 he was contacted by Deputy Dariel Momsen of the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office about information obtained on a person in Enid that possibly was in possession of several items from the Vance Farm. On Aug. 12 Deputy Momsen made contact with Jared Tullis at an Enid address. Momsen and Deputy K. Pierce talked to Tullis and told him they had served a search warrant at Tullis’s previous residence. At that address they recovered some property stolen from the Vance farm.
Momsen explained he had information leading him to believe Tullis and Charity Beckner were suspects in the burglaries. He also explained he had information about Tullis having contact with the Vances and knowledge they did not live at the farm but were storing lots of items on the property.
In the interview, recorded by Deputy Momsen’s body cam, Tullis said several months ago while it was still cold outside, he and Beckner went to the Vance farm in Alfalfa County and loaded several new, still in the box, items from the metal barn. He described the items as four televisions, three .22 caliber pistols, a propane heater, a microwave, Craftsman power tools, a Dewalt tool set, floor jacks and other miscellaneous items, according to the affidavit. He said everything was brand new in boxes.
Tullis also reported seeing some silver coins at a residence belonging to Crystal Cardoza who was responsible for taking the coins. Tullis said all the items were stored at an address on Yucca in Enid. He and Beckner were supposed to sell the items and split the money, however, he said Beckner sold all the property and kept the money. Tullis said he eventually noticed the property was disappearing, and Beckner never paid him any money. He stated the homeowner where the property was stored had no knowledge of the burglary and did not know the items were being stored there.
On Dec. 18 in Alfalfa County, Jared Orie Tullis, 46, of Enid, was charged with grand larceny and burglary in the second degree, both felonies. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The grand larceny charge is punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of not more than two years or in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or by both such fine and imprisonment, and restitution.
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