Published: August 08, 2008 01:08 pm      

Serial burglar sentenced to twelve additional years

Muskogee — Richard Michael Hayes, 58, was sentenced in United States District Court to 10 years in prison for possession of a stolen firearm, according to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma Sheldon J. Sperling.

“Hayes was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment and 36 months supervised release,” said Sperling. “He was also sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, to run consecutively with the other sentence. This sentence was the result of a final revocation hearing for violation of mandatory conditions stemming from a conviction in the northern district of Oklahoma. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,859. He pleaded guilty to the charges in March.”

In September 2007, Hayes was arrested by Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Denny after an investigation led to him becoming the prime suspect in multiple burglaries in the northeastern part of the county.

During a search of Hayes’ residence, deputies found numerous stolen items, including a .22 caliber handgun. Hayes pleaded guilty to five counts of second-degree burglary in November 2007. He was sentenced to 20 years in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

The burglaries began in August and continued into September in the Allen and Francis areas. While attempting to break into another home, Hayes was captured on video surveillance. After seeing the video, Deputies Eric Holcomb and Denny identified the suspect as Hayes and began investigative efforts to locate him.

On Sept. 13, Denny located Hayes as he was walking on a rural county road east of Ada in the Oakman area. Hayes reportedly had several items from a recent burglary in his possession. During questioning, Hayes admitted to involvement in more than 10 area burglaries. Other reportedly stolen items and evidence linking him to the burglaries were found during a search of Hayes’ residence on West Ninth Street in Ada.

Hayes was on federal parole at the time of his arrest and asked for an attorney.