Suspects Caught In Purcell Home Burglary Linked To More Crimes In OK, TX

Two men busted for breaking into a Purcell woman's home, could be linked to more burglaries in Oklahoma and Texas.

On Monday, April 18, the duo thought they were alone but little did they know the homeowner was in the backyard and would soon catch them in the act.

“This is where I was just sitting, right here on this little stool,” said Melony Little.

But when Melony Little looked back at her house, she noticed the back door was open.

“So I went in the house then I saw somebody come out of my bedroom right here in this hallway,” said Little.

Little was confused and assumed the man she saw was her husband home from work early.

“And I said, ‘What the heck?’ I was going to say [what are you] doing home this time of day. And he had all this stuff in his hands and he just dropped it,” she said.

But the men didn't scare her; instead they made her angry for making her their target.

“I followed him in here. By the time I got right here he'd already unlocked the door and was going out the door,” said Little.

Between the detailed suspect description Little gave the dispatcher and those two men not being from Oklahoma, investigators tracked them down to Highway 24 about seven miles from Little's home.

Zackory Hazen and his partner in crime Robert Lile were arrested. In their car, investigators say they found stolen jewelry and cash connected to another burglary.

“We know that if we have a burglar in our county more than likely they've committed crimes in surrounding counties. They are not going to stay in one area,” said Detective Dana Little, McClain County Sheriff’s Office.

So far, investigators have tied Hazen and Lile to other burglaries in Union City and Lindsay, and they could be linked to other cases in Northeast Texas.

“In fact, one of the cases they solved was some good friends of our daughter and we didn't know until last night,” said Melony Little.

Hazen and Lile were both charged Friday, April 22, in McClain County, but as investigators link them to other crimes more charges could be coming.