ELECTRA ( KFDX/KJTL ) — Electra police jailed two suspected electrical equipment thieves on the same day. In separate cases, Dan Green and Larry Smith are charged with theft over $2,500.

Green was arrested Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, for the alleged theft of a transformer from the City of Electra electrical substation on East Railroad in July. Police Chief Craig Hodgkins found a hole cut in the fence and a yellow wagon near the cut fence, which was suspected to be the means of removing the heavy transformer from the yard.

Fingerprint and DNA evidence were taken at the scene, and information was received that Green had been seen with the wagon. Hodgkins interviewed Green, who denied any involvement and told police that the wagon found at the scene belonged to someone else.

Hodgkins said Green described the wagon, although Hodgkins had not described it at all beforehand. The chief also asked Green if there was any reason any of his fingerprints would be at the scene, and Green said no.

After receiving the lab results showing Green’s fingerprints on the wagon, along with other evidence and information, Green was arrested.

Green was also arrested a month before the substation theft when Chief Hodgkins said he saw him taking pipes from a building and riding off with them on a bicycle.

Chief Hodgkins also arrested Green on Sept. 3, 2024, for allegedly shoplifting sausage and socks from Dollar General. Green has 78 arrests, including more than a dozen for theft or burglary.

The other Electra electrical theft suspect was also booked into jail on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.

Larry Smith is charged with taking electric motors from an Electra electrical company in July. The owner said 10 motors had been stolen on different dates within a week, each worth around $1,000.

A search of records at a Wichita Falls scrap yard showed Smith had sold several motors on Jul. 26, and more motors were sold on Aug. 12.

Police say Smith denied selling the motors at a scrap yard. When shown surveillance photos of him selling the motors, he admitted he had been there because he had given someone a ride, but he could not remember who.

This is a developing story. Stick with Texoma’s Homepage for updates as more information becomes available. All individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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