Alva Review-Courier -

A man tasked with cleaning up highway rest areas was apparently a little too thorough. He’s now facing a misdemeanor charge of petit larceny in Alfalfa County.

According to law enforcement documents, on April 21 about 7:30 p.m. Alfalfa County Deputy TJ Rockenbach received a report of a stolen bicycle. He talked with Deeon Barton who said her son’s bike had been stolen. She said her son had purchased a bike and rides it from their home in Kiowa, Kansas, to the rest area on State Highway 8 at the Oklahoma-Kansas line to meet the Burlington school bus.

Barton said that morning her son rode his bike and parked it, securing it with a cable lock around a pole at the picnic table awning. She said her husband had followed their son to the rest area that morning and watched him secure it to the pole. Barton said when her son returned on the bus from school, his bike was missing. The bike was described as a 26 inch mountain bike, black with red stripes and Hyper Shock written on the frame.

About 8:20 p.m. Mrs. Barton called Deputy Rockenbach and said a friend saw a bike matching the description posted on social media for sale. At Rockenbach’s request, Barton took a screen shot of the page and texted it to him. The page showed the bike listed for $100 by Michael West in Cherokee. Barton said she sent West a message asking about the bike and the location where she might see it. He sent her the address which she passed on to Rockenbach.

Rockenbach asked Cherokee Police Officer Bill Irvin to accompany him to the Cherokee residence. They asked West about the bike listed for sale. When he confirmed he had posted it, they told him a bike matching that description had been reported stolen.

West said he worked for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. He said he and David Gilley found the bike while picking up trash at work. He showed the officers the bike in his back yard. West said the bike was just lying next to the picnic table and did not have a lock on it. West’s wife came to the back door and said, “Are you going to give the officer the lock that you threw in the dumpster?” West did not respond.

Rockenbach carried the bike to the front of the house, and Irvin went with West to the trash can at the front of the house where West removed a cable locking device and handed it to Irvin. It was apparent the lock had been broken. West said it was that way when he found it. The serial number on the bike matched the one given by Mrs. Barton.

After leaving the West residence, Rockenbach contacted Gilley who is a reserve deputy for Alfalfa County. Gilley, who also works for the DOT, said the bike was at the rest area, and he told West to leave it alone because it probably belonged to someone. He said he knew West had taken the bike home but did not know he had tried to sell it.

Rockenbach returned to the West home. West admitted he should have taken to the bike to the DOT office or to the police station rather than taking it home. He also said he should not have listed it for sale but rather stated that it had been found. He said that Gilley did not say anything to him about leaving the bike at the rest stop.

Rockenbach went to the Cherokee residence of the DOT supervisor over West and Gilley and explained the incident. He asked about DOT policy. The supervisor said the bike should not have been removed without contacting him, and he would address the situation with his employees.

Michael Lee West, 54, of Cherokee has been charged with petit larceny, a misdemeanor.