MAYES COUNTY, Okla. - A man with a warrant out for his arrest, accused of stealing guns and breaking into a home, is a free man after a miscommunication between sheriffs' departments.
The Mayes County Sheriff's Office said it responded to two calls of stolen cars in Rose, Oklahoma, on May 3.
It later found 24-year-old Mason Womack stole the cars, a gun, broke into homes; and also had an Arkansas police department looking for him.
Police arrested him driving Rachel Lewis' car in Watts, and took him to the Adair County Jail.
“We went outside to go down to the bus stop and my car was just gone," said Rose resident Rachel Lewis.
Her home sits in the middle of a quiet field, looking out onto her mile-long driveway.
“My keys were left on the dryer here so he actually came in the house while we were sleeping," she said. “When someone breaks into your house you don’t really feel safe there anymore, your house is supposed to be a safe place.”
She remembers walking outside, seeing her empty parking space and not being able to put the pieces together.
“This all started in Bentonville, it came to Mayes County where he dropped off the car that was stolen from Mayes County," said Captain Rod Howell with the Mayes County Sheriff's Office.
He said one of his investigators went to Adair County to interview Womack and came back with the intent to bring him back to Mayes County once the proper paperwork was filed.
“He thought there was a hold being placed on Mr. Womack and at some point he bonded out of Adair County.”
He said Womack posted bond due to "miscommunication."
He said the department's arrest warrant it requested from the district attorney came the day after he walked free.
“For all we know he could be out robbing people," said Rachel Lewis.
She said Womack's freedom infuriates her.
“I’m going to be the one to push back and put him back in jail," she said. “You stole my car but that was it. I’m not going to lose sleep over it or let it ruin my life.”
Lewis hopes getting his face out there will protect someone from going through what she went through.
Captain Howell said the department believes drugs could be a factor in Womack's crimes.
It now has a $25,000 warrant out for his arrest, and asks anyone who sees him to contact local authorities immediately.
According to court documents Womack is due back to court on June 21.
The department believes he's probably back in his home state of western Arkansas.
The Adair County Sheriff's Office reached out to 2 Works for You the day after this story aired, and said it followed all necessary protocol before releasing Womack.
The sheriff said Mayes County never communicated it needed a hold on him.
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