2 Accused Of Stealing Cars From Deceased Person's Home

The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office arrested two men accused of stealing cars from a home that is in probate after the resident died.

Deputies responded to a home on East Wilshire Boulevard, south of Luther, on June 15 after getting word that two people were stealing vehicles from the property, according to an incident report from the Sheriff's Office. 

A deputy later pulled over and detained 36-year-old Brandon Bliss, who was using a tractor to tow one of the stolen cars, the incident report said. 

With information from Bliss, investigators found the other suspect, 36-year-old Christopher Hand, who allegedly used a pickup truck and trailer to steal another car from the same East Wilshire property, the incident report stated.

Bliss claimed he was on the property to do some work, said the report. But the property owner told investigators neither suspect was given permission to take anything.

Sheriff Tommie Johnson said the property was the home of a person who died in 2021. Since then, it has been in probate, the legal process that reviews the deceased person's assets to determine inheritors.

Johnson said the Sheriff's Office had received information that other items had been stolen from the same property in the past. He said unoccupied homes like that are vulnerable to thieves, who would scope out properties for potential targets.

"We're seeing this a lot where people will go by and they're checking too. They're very cognizant of who's in these areas and the elderly people, and when they leave, they will take advantage of our citizenry," said Johnson.

To help deter thieves, Johnson said it's important to maintain unoccupied homes to make them look livable.

"Let's mow the yard. Let's keep the grass and the shrubs cut. Keep the house upkept," said Johnson. "One, it keeps the value high. But two, it adds a presence of someone being there so that potential thieves have it in the back of their mind that, 'Hey, someone might be in this property.'"

Should a loved one die or get transferred to a nursing facility, Johnson advises family members to log all the valuable items in the unoccupied home, just in case they go missing.

 "We're notifying the people in our community to be mindful because any and everyone could potentially be going through this situation," said Johnson.