Waynoka man charged with stealing pickup
December 16, 2018
Keys left in a truck proved too tempting to a Waynoka man, according to court records.
Byron Del Rittenhouse, 37, of Waynoka, has been charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, a felony. This crime is punishable by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not to exceed two years.
However, Rittenhouse has been convicted of three previous felonies in Woods County. Under Oklahoma law, the punishment for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle after former conviction of two or more felonies is imprisonment of up to ten years. His convictions include aggravated assault and battery in 2012, possession of precursor substance with intent to manufacture methamphetamine in 2017, and furnishing alcoholic beverage to person under 21 in 2017.
According to court records, on May 12, Mike Hood reported his company vehicle (Mach Resources) had been stolen from his residence in the 2200 block of Santa Fe Street in Waynoka. Woods County Deputy David Cummings arrived, and Hood said he heard dogs barking earlier in the morning but was unsure of the exact time. He said he backed his company-issued vehicle into his driveway the night before and left the keys in the cup holder of the center console. The last time he saw the truck in his driveway was between 10:30 and 11 p.m. on May 11.
The 2015 Chevrolet four-door ¾ ton pickup contained numerous amounts of tools as well as a laptop computer and portable wifi. It was also connected to OnStar. Cummings later contacted OnStar, and they initiated a track on the vehicle to be monitored for 48 hours.
Cummings spoke with neighbors. One accessed his home surveillance footage showing that about 5:23 a.m. an individual is seen walking from the area of the theft on Santa Fe Street heading east. Approximately 5:34 a.m. a pickup matching the stolen vehicle is observed traveling east on Santa Fe Street from the area of the theft.
Throughout the day, Cummings received information that Rittenhouse had been staying with his sister, Rachel Rittenhouse, and was seen out after the bar closed. His sister’s residence is approximately one block east of where the theft occurred. Waynoka Police Officer Misty Smiley reported seeing Rittenhouse leave the bar with Mark Alvarado and Lacy Lee around 2 a.m. Rachel said Byron was not at her house at 6 a.m. when she was getting up.
Alvarado told Cummings he gave Lee and Rittenhouse a ride home after the bar closed at 2 a.m. He dropped Lee off at her dad’s residence on Santa Fe and then dropped Rittenhouse off at his sister’s. He said he returned to the bar to wait for his girlfriend to finish work. They returned to his residence after 4 a.m. He said after they returned, he was standing on his porch and saw headlights come on at Hood’s residence between 4:15 and 4:30 a.m.
Three days later on May 15, Cummings received a call from Brian Day, a supervisor with Mach Resources. Day said he was driving around Woodward and thought he had found the stolen vehicle in a parking lot of the Kansas Apartments in Woodward. Cummings contacted the Woodward police who sent officers to the location. It was confirmed this was the vehicle reported stolen. The keys were in the ignition, and the computer and wifi were still inside. The stereo was removed. Officers processed the vehicle and spoke with neighbors. The vehicle was later released to Day.
On May 18 Cummings and Waynoka Police Chief Bill Barnum located Rittenhouse at his sister’s house. He agreed to come to the police department and speak with them. Asked if he knew why they wanted to talk to him, he said he had heard from people in town that he was being accused of stealing something.
Rittenhouse explained his whereabouts on the morning of the theft and denied being in Woodward. He said after the bar closed and Alvarado took him to his sister’s house, he cooked breakfast. He said Lee began messaging him that she couldn’t sleep and wanted to continue drinking. She had a bottle of vodka, and he told her to walk over to his house. He said about 2:30 a.m. they left and went to Lacy’s house where he spent the night, leaving between 7 and 8 a.m. He said he then went to his mother’s house. Cummings said that wasn’t the story Lee had told him, and Rittenhouse said she was lying.
Under more questioning Rittenhouse said he went to see a girl he was not supposed to be hanging out with, Tameka Hommertzheim. Her house is on the south side of Waynoka. He said he walked there sometime after 2:30 a.m. and spent the rest of the night with her. When Cummings assured Rittenhouse he would be speaking to Hommertzheim, he appeared nervous.
After he left, Cummings and Barnum went to speak to Hommertzheim. She was sitting on the front porch talking on the phone. She said Rittenhouse was at her house on the morning of the theft for approximately an hour. Under further questioning, she changed her story saying he showed up sometime after 3 a.m. and didn’t stay long, maybe 10 minutes. She said she remembered being mad at him because he woke her up.
When Cummings attempted a follow-up interview with Rittenhouse a few days later, he was unable to locate him. He was told that Rittenhouse was possibly in Woodward. On June 11 Cummings went to Rachel’s residence and was able to speak with Rittenhouse who said he had nothing more to say.
On Oct. 1, Cummings spoke to Lee regarding the stolen vehicle. She said on the morning of the theft she and Rittenhouse walked to her house. She went inside and he walked home. This was after 2 a.m. on May 12. She said he later messaged her asking if she had anything to drink. She told him she had a bottle of vodka. A little later, she said Rittenhouse showed up at her residence driving a white pickup. He said he borrowed the vehicle from a friend but later told her he stole it, stating, “Who’s stupid enough to leave the keys in it?”
She told Cummings she got in the pickup with Rittenhouse and they drove to a parking lot near his sister’s home. He said he needed to run by his sister’s. When he returned to the pickup he had a crow bar in hand. She said they drove the back roads for a while and then took the pickup out on the sand dunes at Little Sahara State Park.
She said Rittenhouse took her back to her parents’ house on Santa Fe and told her he was going to Woodward.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Rittenhouse.
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