Alva Review-Courier -

Friday afternoon, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections announced the capture of Joey Mena, 45, an inmate who walked away from Bill Johnson Correctional Center (BJCC) in Alva on Saturday, March 18.

Mena was taken into custody around noon on Friday by fugitive apprehension agents from Oklahoma Department of Corrections and U.S. Marshals Service. Agents located Mena at a residence near SE 45th in Oklahoma City. There, agents made contact with Mena and Michelle Kjeldgaard, and both were taken into custody. Kory Keaton, a resident of the home in which Mena was found, was also taken into custody.

Kjeldgaard and Keaton were later booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center where they are expected to face charges for harboring a fugitive.

Inmate Mena, who was serving a 165-day sentence for larceny of an automobile, grand larceny, and possession of stolen property when he walked away from BJCC, will be transported to Lexington Assessment and Reception Center (LARC) where he will await additional charges.

On Sunday, March 19, at approximately 9:53 a.m. Woods County Undersheriff Keith Dale received a call from Chris Morris, owner of Thin Red Line Trucking LLC who stated a semi-truck and trailer were stolen from his business on County Road 460. Thin Red Line Trucking is located less than 1,000 feet south of BJCC.

While Dale waited for Morris to arrive, Morris called to say he received a call from Phillip "Andy" Ketchum, the pastor of New Life Church of the Nazarene in Del City, who stated a Thin Red Line LLC semi and trailer were parked in the church parking lot.

Morris later told Dale his black 2009 Peterbilt 386 semi-truck and a 2011 Wilson Grain Hopper trailer were stolen during the nighttime hours. According to Morris, his driver stated the keys were in the vehicle and it had approximately one-half a tank of Fuel. Morris stated he has video surveillance of the property.

Dale viewed the surveillance video which shows a man, matching Mena's physical description and wearing a shirt that said "INMATE" on the back, come into camera view walking from the north at 8:42 p.m. Mena walked toward the semi but then turned and walked east out of camera view. He reappeared at 8:43 p.m. when he walked back to the semi and tried the passenger side door. When he was unable to open it, he went to the driver's side door, opened it, and got inside the vehicle. Mena can be seen moving around inside the semi before turning the headlights on and driving off the property at 8:46 p.m. The video shows Mena turning south on County Road 460 and then east on US-64.

Later Undersheriff Dale conducted a limited records check on Mena, which revealed an extensive criminal history in Oklahoma and Texas dating back to 1996 including several charges of larceny of automobiles. Mena has previously been arrested for attempting to elude police officers, domestic assault and battery by strangulation, receiving and concealing stolen property, grand larceny, burglary of a habitation and vehicle, theft of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon.

On March 21 in Woods County, Joey Lee Mena, 45, of Oklahoma City, was charged with larceny of a vehicle, a felony. This charge is punishable by imprisonment for a term of not less than three years, nor more than ten years, or by a fine in an amount equal to three times the value of the property that was stolen but not more than $500,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment, and restitution.