Two men ? who had a run-in with gun-toting landowners near Chaplin Nature Center last month ? now have been arrested in Sumner County and are accused of stealing anhydrous ammonia.
Sheriff’s deputies, aided by county authorities from Cowley, made the bust Dec. 14 at the Two-Rivers Co-Op in Geuda Springs. The suspects were identified as James T. Brown VI, 22, and Mason S. Renollet, 18, both of Ark City.
They face charges that include possession of anhydrous ammonia in an unapproved container, theft and manufacture of a controlled susbstance. Bond was set at $70,000.
The pair were arrested last Monday night when one of the men was observed near one of the co-op’s anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks, Sumner County Sheriff’s capt. Mike Yoder said. Anhydrous is a component in the making of methamphetamine.
The man was questionned and said he’d been dropped off by a second man who would be returning. Authorities waited on a second suspect and arrested both men.
Renollet and Brown are familiar to authorities in Cowley County.
Just last month, both were arrested after an incident northwest of Ark City just across the river from the nature center. Landowners said they saw the men driving into an isolated rural area that authorities believe is used by drug makers, according to local law-enforcement officials.
The landowners, who were never identified by name, fired toward the suspects as they fled in a Ford Focus. A bullet nicked the vehicle’s oil pan and authorities tracked the suspects by following oil drippings.
Deputies searched the area for signs of drug activity but Renollet and Brown ended up being arrested only for criminal trespass. Renollet was also cited for a driving infraction.
Brown’s father, James Brown V, is also suspected of anhydrous theft in connection with a bust at the Hackney Co-Op near Strother Field in Oct. Sheriff’s departments in the area have been monitoring the area for anhydrous thefts due to an uptick in thefts recently.
