OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Police are searching for three men from Texas accused of stealing thousands of dollars in cash from a man while he was praying.
Arrest warrants for Gabriel Lara, Nicholas Barrientos and Ruben Barrientos reveal the crimes that took place earlier this month.
The theft reportedly started with stealing an Oklahoma license plate off of another car parked outside Santa Fe South High School, then putting that plate on their car.
The suspects then went to the Bank of America nearby to stake out customers. The victim arrived at the bank and withdrew "25,000 dollars for a vehicle purchase."
With the suspects following him, the victim left the bank and drove to the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine.
He parked away from other cars and walked up the hill to pray.
The suspects pulled in next to the victim and moments later the victim's window is smashed, the cash is stolen and the suspects are gone.
Hours later, the men were stopped in Wichita, Kansas, for a traffic violation.
Court documents say the officer "noted the smell of marijuana and conflicting travel stories."
Police searched the vehicle and found two stacks of cash, but according to the documents "no drugs were found, and no prior drug charges were found so they were released with the driver receiving citations."
Police also say there was no known income source to explain the money and that the driver claimed it was from the sale of a vehicle.
All three suspects had Texas IDs and addresses, and the registered owner of the car confirmed it was sold to the Lara a few months ago. The warrants also note their records did not show any ties to Oklahoma.
Documents also reveal all three men have criminal histories out of Waco; Lara was previously charged with evading arrest, Ruben Barrientos was previously charged with theft of property and burglary of vehicles and Nicholas Barrientos was previously charged with driving while intoxicated.
Now, the three men are facing several other charges in Oklahoma including larceny, burglary, and pattern of criminal offenses.
While police would not comment on this specific case, News 4 spoke with them previously about a similar situation.
"Pay attention to your surroundings. Do not count your cash out in the open where people can see it," said MSgt. Gary Knight, with the Oklahoma City Police Department.
We also reached out to the shrine and was sent the following statement:
The Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine is open to all, and while we take every reasonable precaution for security on our campus, things can still happen. Our staff has been cooperating with the police to share CCTV footage in the hope that the money can be returned.
Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine
News 4 asked police about this footage, but were told they have no plans to release it.
