Charge Filed Against Former Worker Accused Of Burglarizing OKC Mathis Brothers Store

A formal charge has been filed against a former employee accused of breaking into a safe at Mathis Brothers furniture store in Oklahoma City, and stealing $8,000.

On Monday, June 8, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater filed a second-degree burglary charge against 22-year-old Brent Dejuan Johnson. Johnson is not in custody at this time and authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest.

According to police, the burglary happened between 12:45 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. on March 20 at Mathis Brothers furniture store, located at 3434 W. Reno. Store management learned that $8,000 had been stolen out of a safe located in a closet within a locked office.

Surveillance cameras captured videos of a man entering the office area where the safe is kept by entering a pass code. The man was wearing gloves, a surgical mask, a dark-colored hoodie, and dark pants, the same attire workers wear in the loading docks.

Surveillance footage shows that the man searched for the key to open the closet door where the safe was kept. After not being able to find it, the suspect stepped out of the room momentarily and returned. He went straight to where the key was hidden.

While in the closet, the suspect can be seen on surveillance cameras using his cell phone. Police said he appeared to be getting step-by-step instructions on where the keys were to the closet, the safe combination, and which keys were used to open the lock box where the money was located inside of the safe.

During an internal investigation by Mathis Brothers, officials said the suspect matched the description of Brent Johnson, a former employee and the boyfriend of a store manager. Authorities interviewed that manager, however, she minimized her relationship with Johnson. Police said she was not forthcoming during portions of the interview. 

The manager signed a search waiver for her cellphone, and officers found a photo of Johnson wearing a dark blue hoodie, which was the same one worn by the burglary suspect in the surveillance video. All communication between the manager and Johnson had been deleted from her phone.

A judge authorized an order on April 24 to obtain Johnson's cellphone record and data. Police learned that Johnson's phone was hitting off of cellphone towers in the area of where Mathis Brothers is located the day of the crime. Police also learned that there was communication between Johnson and the manager in question during the time of the crime.