OKC Police Arrest Panhandler Who Claims He Made $60K A Year

A man from Little Rock, Arkansas, was arrested in Oklahoma City after police say he was soliciting from the street without a permit. The panhandler allegedly told police he made $60,000 a year.

According to police, at about 1 p.m. on July 4, an officer was in the area of Interstate 40 and MacArthur when he noticed a panhandler on the north side of I-40 in the median.

Police say the panhandler, later identified as 45-year-old Warren Speegle, tied a large sign to a street sign. The sign was about four feet by four feet, and it was requesting money for travel and food.

Speegle, police say, would then go into the roadway, making contact with drivers, and receiving money. The officer stopped and told Speegle that it is illegal in Oklahoma City to panhandle without a correct permit, and it would cost $200 to purchase a permit.

According to the police report, the officer then asked Speegle why he didn't just go get a job. Speegle reportedly stated "I'm lazy, and I made $60,000 doing this last year. Why would I go get a job?"

The officer then told Speegle that he needed a $1,000 insurance policy issued by an insurer licensed in Oklahoma. And if he did not meet the requirements, he would have to stop his soliciting. Speegle then took down the sign and left the median.

However, 20 minutes later, the officer returned to the area and Speegle was reattaching his sign to the median post, and was "back in business," according to the report. The officer then arrested Speegle for soliciting without a permit. He was transported to the Oklahoma County Jail on one count of soliciting from the street.

According to police, Speegle also had a warrant out of Florida for parole violation, larceny of a motor vehicle, and another warrant out of Arkansas for soliciting from a street.