Two Accused Of Stealing Tailgates At Will Rogers World Airport

Two people were arrested and charged for running an expensive scheme targeting tailgates at Will Rogers World Airport.

Undercover officers said they watched as one suspect removed them while the other acted as a look out.

News 9 learned that removing a tailgate from a truck is not only extremely easy for a thief, but it only takes a matter of seconds. So timing was critical in catching the suspects.

Logan Dunn, 19, and his alleged partner in crime, 22-year-old Kaytlen Pomeroy were on a roll.

In February alone, the two were accused of stealing at least six tailgates from the airport's long term parking lot.

“And we obviously get Oklahoma City police involved immediately,” said Will Rogers World Airport spokesperson, Karen Carney. “We do have Oklahoma City police here at the airport, 24-7.”

Parking lot surveillance cameras helped nail down who the suspects were.

After a brief investigation and a stake out by undercover officers, police said they were able to watch the two in action.

“There were several entities that worked really closely together to get the issue solved and get these people caught and charged,” said Carney.

“Someone that is knowledgeable can have one off in probably 15, 20 seconds,” said Jeff Stevens, co-owner of ‘Mr. Pickup.'

Jeff Stevens and his dad have been in the truck accessory selling business for more than 25 years, and they said tailgates are extremely expensive to replace, some as costly as $2,000!

“These clips come off pretty quick,” said Stevens, giving News 9 a demonstration using his truck. “It's just a matter of popping that off, and you can lift the tailgate right off.”

But Jeff said there are a number of precautions you can take.

“A lot of trucks now are coming with locks from the factory, and they'll be keyed to your ignition key so they're easy to use, and they will disengage the handle so you can't lower it,” said Stevens.

“It was news to me anyway,” said Carney. “I had not heard of that happening before.”

Airport officials want to reassure travelers their vehicles are safe in its parking lots and Will Rogers World Airport takes crimes like this very seriously.