Landowners with guns Monday helped authorities apprehend two Ark City men accused of trespassing in a rural area thought to be used for drug-producing activity, Cowley County Sheriff Don Read said.
The incident occurred around 6:40 p.m when property owners in the 26900 block of 31st Rd. ?northwest of Ark City ? called to report tresspassers. Read said authorities had previously asked residents in that area to monitor their property because it is near the river in a well-hidden place authorities suspect is used for making methamphetamine.
Read said two landowners ? who are related to one another but were not identified by name ? attempted to barricade the entrance to a field when the suspects tried to leave. The entrance to the field leads to a remote area not far from the Chaplin Nature Center.
One landowner fired a shot in the air and the other fired a shot at the ground.
The shot fired at the ground somehow punctured the oil pan on the 2007 Ford Focus the suspects were driving. Though the suspects were able to flee, investigators followed an oil trail and were able to make two arrests.
James Thomas Brown VI, 22, and Mason S. Renollet, 18, were arrested on a charge of criminal trespassing. Renollet also faces a charge of driving with a suspended license.
Read said both men are known to law enforcement officials. Investigators are continuing a search of the area for evidence of drug-related activity, but no drug charges have been filed at this time.
The case will be submitted to the county attorney’s office and Read did not rule out charges against the landowners who fired in the direction of the suspects.
"But given the circumstances, I think it is highly unlikely you’ll see any charges against the landowners," he said.
Brown’s father, James T. Brown V, was arrested last month near the Hackney branch of Valley Co-Op. He remains in jail and is accused of stealing anhyrdrous ammonia.
The approximate location of the incident is shown on the map below:
