McALESTER —
Felony theft and conspiracy charges were dismissed recently for three Pittsburg County residents.
Shawn James Davis Jr., 22, of McAlester; Misty Dawn Gentry, 22, of Hartshorne, and Dewey Dean Cothern, 26, of McAlester, were charged Oct. 23 in Pittsburg County District Court with grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft.
On Feb. 12, charges were dismissed for all three in Pittsburg County District Court.
District 18 District Attorney Farley Ward said the case was dismissed after his office filed a motion. “That was done after conferring with the victim in the case who had decided that it is costing him too much money and time off work and he does not want to continue with the prosecution,” Ward told the News-Capital on Friday. “We could not make a case without the victim’s testimony.”
According to Krebs Police Chief Dennis Cook, the three — Davis, Gentry and Cothern — were inside Rumors Sports Bar in Krebs one evening in October. Cook said Gentry lured a man by the name of Erin Sturdevant outside the bar where two other men were waiting.
“They assaulted him, reached in his pockets to try and rob him of cash and took approximately $100 in cash,” Cook said.
Krebs Police Officer Colby Barnett investigated the incident at the bar. When Barnett arrived at Rumors, he met up with Sturdevant, according to a police affidavit.
Sturdevant informed Barnett that he had been at Rumors for approximately one hour and had purchased drinks for some people in the bar, the affidavit states.
Sturdevant “was talking to Misty Gentry,” Barnett’s report states. “He advised me that Misty asked him to come outside and he did. He stated that when he walked to the corner of the bar that two men grabbed him and Misty (Gentry) stated give us the money that you stole off the table.”
According to the affidavit, Sturdevant told police that he told the three that he did not steal any money. Sturdevant told police that Davis put him in a choke hold while Cothern punched him, the affidavit states.
Sturdevant told Barnett that Gentry then stopped the men from assaulting him, the affidavit states. “He stated that he then reached in his pocket and gave the three subjects a one hundred dollar bill.”
According to the affidavit, Davis, Cothern and Gentry left the scene of the alleged theft.
“Our office found out who they were,” Cook said, “found them in Hartshorne with the help of the Hartshorne Police Department and the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, and they were arrested without incident at the suspects’ residence.”
When the News-Capital spoke with Sturdevant in the days following the incident, he said he was not lured out of the bar. He also said he did not steal any money.
Following his release from jail, Davis told the News-Capital that both he and Gentry saw Sturdevant digging in Gentry’s purse while in the bar. He said they confronted Sturdevant about the missing $100 and Sturdevant returned the money. There was no conspiracy or theft by the three of us, Davis said.
Contact Rachel Petersen at rpetersen@mcalestermnews.com.
For more on this story, see the print or electronic editions of the McAlester News-Capital. Click here for print edition home delivery or click here to see the Smart Edition for your computer, tablet, e-reader or smart phone.
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