Investigation into alleged theft leads to arrest of employee and two others

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Arrest affidavits from three men currently behind bars on theft charges reveal a connection between a fake robbery at a local convenience store and a SWAT team raid at a local apartment complex at the beginning of the month.

Ke'syiah Dreshon Austin, 21, McKenzie Montrell Smith, 24, and Alvericio Chester Godet, 24, all of Wichita Falls, are currently being held in the Wichita County Jail on $5,000 bail each on a charge of theft of property over $100, but less than $750.

Additionally, Godet is charged with making a false report to provoke an emergency response on an additional $20,000 bond. Austin is being held without bail on a parole violation warrant from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Robbery reported in Stripes on Southwest Parkway

The theft charges stem from a report of a theft at the Stripes store, at the corner of Southwest Parkway and Taft Boulevard, on Friday, June 7, 2024. Godet was the store clerk and Smith was previously employed there.

According to the arrest affidavit, Godet reported the robbery, saying a large black man wearing a black hoodie and gray shorts entered with a gun and fled west on Southwest Parkway . Police said they searched the area but found no suspects.

Authorities said surveillance video showed a man matching that description entering about two hours before the report was called and purchasing items, then at the time of the report, returning, this time with a bandana over his face.

Surveillance video from other businesses shows the suspect entering and exiting with another large black man.

The store manager also gave police surveillance video of a robbery at the store on June 3, which he said shows a former employee, Smith, entering and crouching behind the cash register and taking money in the safes.

Police said Smith was wearing the same clothes worn by the man who was seen leaving with the robbery suspect. Other surveillance video showed two men walking toward a Colony Park apartment after the reported robbery.

WFPD and SWAT serve search warrant in Colony Park

Authorities obtained a search warrant at the apartment, which was served a week later on Friday, June 14, 2024, with the assistance of SWAT. During the execution of that warrant, police said Smith was taken into custody.

According to authorities, Smith agreed to speak to police, telling them that he and Clerk Godet were involved, as was Austin. He told police they planned the robbery and he was the lookout.

After this information, Godet was accused of theft by embezzlement and false declaration. They said the investigation showed that Godet planned the robbery and that surveillance after the robbery showed that Godet regularly visited the apartment where Smith and Austin were staying, and that text messages and phone calls also confirmed that they had planned the theft.

Police said that when Austin was arrested on an unrelated warrant and questioned about the theft, he denied any involvement.

WFPD spokesperson discusses response to false reports

Although the charges against Godet, Smith and Austin are all misdemeanors and actual aggravated robbery is a first-degree felony, authorities have said whether they are real or not, the initial response to the calls is the same. High priority interventions pose a risk to both officers and citizens.

Sgt. Charlie Eipper, public information officer with the Wichita Falls Police Department, said making a false report not only puts people in danger, but also blocks resources that might be needed for further response.

Sgt. Eipper said this incident was reported as an armed robbery, which reinforces the type of response because it's possible that someone with a gun could put lives in danger.

“It’s just getting dangerous,” the sergeant said. Eipper said. “It's very dangerous when you make these kinds of alleged reports that are false and say you were robbed or someone else has a gun, and then officers come across someone who is not maybe not even the same person but maybe matches the description, clothes and so on.

A previous theft at this store resulted in a death

In this case, Sgt. Eipper said an actual prior robbery could have been on the minds of responding officers.

On February 12, 2022, officers responded to the same Stripes location in response to reports of a theft. When they arrived on scene, they found the clerk, Floyd Kirt, dead from gunshot wounds sustained during the robbery.

Tajmon Robinson was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole in March 2024. He is currently appealing the conviction.