Three men have been arrested for armed robbery in the first major local crime of 2014.
Brian T. Koenigs, 26, Jeremiah L. Stephens 30, and Christopher A. Garcia, 23, are accused of stealing the cash register from the Owens Corner Market convenience store located at 115 S. Westminster in Midwest City.
Midwest City Police report that just before 12 p.m. Jan. 2, two of the men entered the store with one pulling a gun and threatening Amanda Ketcher, who was working the register at the time. They then fled to a blue Chevrolet Blazer parked across the street, the third man was driving.
"I was standing at the counter, he pointed the gun at me and told me to back away from the counter and the register," Ketcher said. "The shorter one stood at the door while the taller one jumped up on the counter and pointed the gun at me. Then they took the register and ran out."
Ketcher immediately hit the panic button and contacted emergency services on her cell phone. The entire process took less than 10 seconds, she said.
Just minutes before this robbery, the same trio reportedly stopped at Tuti’s, another nearby convenience store, located at 700 S. Post Rd.
Store owner Oanh Quach allowed EastWord News access to her video surveillance showing the visit. But she added that one of the men also came to her store and did not buy anything New Year’s night at approximately 6:15 p.m.
"He walked in the door, and I saw he wasn’t a regular customer, so I stood near the door and asked, ‘You need help?’ but I spoke loudly so my husband could hear," Quach said. "The next day at 11:52 in the morning, he walked in with another but luckily I had more customers in and out all day."
Video footage shows the three men quickly leaving Quach’s gas station without attempting to take anything, most likely due to a customer arriving soon after they entered the store, she said.
After the robbery, a Choctaw police officer spotted the suspect’s vehicle near SE 15th Street and Hiwassee. Officer George McKinnis’ attempts to stop the vehicle led to a brief chase. The vehicle finally stopped in the 1600 block of Choctaw Wood Drive and two of the three men fled.
Stephens, the driver, was arrested at this point. Police then set up a perimeter and a K-9 unit was brought to track the two other suspects.
Midwest City Police said the men were eventually found in an unoccupied home in the 12500 block of Choctaw Wood Circle that they had forced entry into. Both eventually surrendered to police custody without incident.
All three are being charged with complaints of armed robbery while Koenigs and Garcia face the additional charge of burglary to a residence.
Midwest City and Choctaw police were not the only agencies involved. The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s office, Oklahoma City and Nicoma Park Police also assisted in the operation.
