Bubbaworld

Upon leaving the police department, Owens and her boys went to the office of Talihina City Judge Mary Ann Coleman, where Owens discussed the boys’ case with the judge. Mrs. Owens at first received the impression that the judge was going to dismiss the case against her boys, but subsequently learned that the judge deferred the case and would dismiss the charges if the boys did not get into additional trouble within the following two weeks.

After speaking with Judge Coleman, Owens made one additional stop with the boys and then returned them to school, after which she went to speak with the gentleman whose newspaper the boys had stolen. In discussing the incident with the gentleman, Owens learned that as of that time, the man had not spoken with anyone from the Talihina Police Department, either in person or by telephone. Subsequently, Owens would learn that hours after the boys arrest someone from the Talihina PD did come by and take a report from the victim.

According to the Oklahoma Statutes, a warrantless arrest can only be made under very specific conditions. None of those conditions are present in a misdemeanor offense not witnessed by the arresting officer. For reference see Title 22, Chapter 3 – Section 196 of the Criminal Code.

Additional research regarding the arrest of children specifically revealed that a juvenile may be taken into custody prior to the filing of a petition alleging that the child is delinquent or in need of supervision and without a court order, but only for a criminal offense which the officer would be authorized to arrest an adult without a warrant. This was clearly not the case with children accused of stealing a newspaper. For reference see Title 10, Chapter 73, Part 1, Article III of the Oklahoma Juvenile Code.

According to the Oklahoma Statutes, the arrest of Steven and Brian Owens was illegal. That the arrest was made without a complaint being made on the part of the alleged victim and solely upon the ‘say so’ of a school principal who did not witness the alleged crime is likely a violation of the children’s civil rights. Julie Owens states that she was told by Talihina Police department officers that the charges would likely be dismissed or she might have to pay a small fine. As a firestorm of protest developed over the actions of the police department the ‘story’ evolved that the arrest was simply a “scare tactic” on the part of the arresting officers. Owens duly noted that “scare tactics” do not come with court dates and fines attached.

Thus far there has been no official explanation for why two Talihina Police Officers, one the Chief of Police, so blatantly and with total disregard for the law they swore an oath to uphold, illegally detained and arrested two children for stealing a newspaper.

The fact that neither officer witnessed the theft and no formal complaint had been made by the victim prior to the warrantless arrest of the children, it may well be that the officers felt that a “scare tactic” was a good idea, regardless of how many laws and civil rights were violated in the process.

Only the officers involved can answer as to why they acted in the manner in which they did. And thus far, neither have made public statements on the issue other than in a news report in the Daily Oklahoma, dated 3/09/06 and titled “Police throw the book at young paper thieves”. A report in which Police Chief Jack England, husband of Talihina Mayor Jacqueline England, is quoted as stating:

We went up there and took care of the little situation and do what we normally do what we do when someone is caught stealing.

In the wake of her children’s arrest, Julie Owens became ‘a mom on a mission’, one to right the wrongs she feels were done to her children and prevent future wrongs against other children. As a result, Owens started a petition addressed to the Talihina School Board asking that Rogers’ ability to deal with the students and parents be re-evaluated by the board.

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