OKC police officer acquitted in theft ring case

Oklahoma City police officer Weston Slater admitted to making a dumb mistake.

He never should have checked that vehicle ID number for a casual friend, he said. And he should have done more when he got a “hit” from the national law enforcement database that the pickup was stolen.

“I made a dumb mistake that day,” he told investigators last year. “And I made even a dumber mistake by not checking up on it and not following through and figuring out where it was at.”

Federal prosecutors saw it differently.

They alleged he knowingly helped out a crime ring that stole tractors, golf carts, all-terrain vehicles, utility task

vehicles, rough-terrain vehicles, riding lawn mowers and pickups in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

They alleged looking up the pickup’s ID number on Feb. 4, 2016, was just the start of his involvement.

At a trial last week, a jury sided with the police officer.

Jurors on Friday found him not guilty of concealing a crime, lying to the FBI and conspiracy.

Jurors took under three hours to reach their verdict in Oklahoma City federal court.

“I would like to thank my friends and family for standing by my side throughout this ordeal and I am grateful to my attorneys, J. Patrick Quillian and Bayleigh Adams, for making sure the truth came out,” Slater told The Oklahoman.

Prosecutors alleged Slater checked the national law enforcement database to see if the pickup was stolen for ringleader Dakota Epperly.

They alleged he later accessed an Oklahoma City police database to see what information was there on theft ring participants including his own brother.

They alleged he also accessed the database to look for information on investigators from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

They alleged he warned his brother on Sept. 30, 2016, about a police search.

Testifying against him was Epperly, who is to be sentenced Aug. 30 on a charge of possession of stolen property.

Epperly told jurors Slater had previously run a license check for him and looked for information on a hit-and-run accident for him.

Epperly testified he had told another participant he “knew a cop” that would run vehicle ID numbers “for us.”

Slater did not testify but jurors did hear from his statement to investigators last year.

In the statement, he denied knowing Epperly was in a theft ring. “I would never have thought this guy, and I still don’t, would ever ... steal anything like that,” he said on Feb. 28, 2017.

He also gave innocent explanations for some of the police database searches and said he didn’t remember looking for information about investigators.

He denied warning his brother.

“We are glad the jury saw this situation for what it truly was and that Weston can now live his life moving forward without a felony conviction,” his lead attorney, Quillian, said.

Slater, 26, of Yukon, became an Oklahoma City police officer in 2015 but his future there is uncertain.

He was on unpaid administrative leave while his case was pending. Since the trial, he has been placed on paid administrative leave, a police spokesman said Tuesday.

“Back pay will occur,” Capt. Bo Mathews said.

The officer’s brother, Auston Slater, 29, pleaded guilty a year ago to conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.

In July, prominent homebuilder Dennis Lee, 45, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his role in the theft ring and for a weapons offense.

Lee was a “fence,” a middleman who bought stolen property at a discount from the thieves to sell later for a profit, prosecutors alleged.

One participant, Amanda Czermak, said Lee had paid about $60,000 for stolen property worth $300,000, records show.

I would like to thank my friends and family for standing by my side throughout this ordeal and I am grateful to my attorneys, J. Patrick Quillian and Bayleigh Adams, for making sure the truth came out.” Oklahoma City police officer Weston Slater