Police arrest suspect accused of breaking into stores and stealing cigarettes and alcohol

Tulsa police make a crucial breakthrough in the nearly year-long investigation of a man accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes and alcohol from stores across the Green Country.

Investigators say Michael McCalister and an accomplice committed flash burglaries at stores in Tulsa, Claremore, Collinsville, Coweta, Catoosa, Pryor and Bristow.

Related: 'Just so frustrating': Pryor store owner loses thousands after thieves steal cigarettes

News On 6 has been reporting on these cases for weeks. In all cases, the thieves wore masks, brought their own city of Tulsa trash cans, brought their own garden rocks to break the glass, and were out in about a minute. Police say they found all of these items in McCalister's garage on Tuesday.

Related: Bristow shop owner says he lost thousands after thieves broke in and stole cigarettes

News On 6 was there when Tulsa Police burglary investigators arrested McCalister at a home in Owasso. They say McCalister is a serial thief who has harassed business owners in at least four counties over several months.

“He just didn't stop. He just kept driving. He never stopped. That allowed us to gather information on suspicious vehicles and suspects. You have to assume there are cameras everywhere,” said Tulsa Police Lieutenant Tim Means.

According to police, McCalister's consistent approach was ultimately his undoing. It began months ago with a series of break-ins at liquor stores, then followed by break-ins at supermarkets, and in almost every case, the thieves were traveling in a gray Jeep doing exactly the same thing.

“They break a window and go in. If they're after cigarettes, they just grab all the cigarettes and other merchandise they can get their hands on, throw them in these trash cans and just haul them back out, taking undisclosed amounts of money, sometimes $20,000 worth of cigarettes,” Means said.

Police obtained a license plate, issued it, and immediately began receiving calls from other agencies with similar cases. We reported on a case in Pryor earlier this month involving the exact same modus operandi. That's when officers saw the suspect's vehicle on their license plate reading cameras.

Just days later, we reported on a case in Bristow where police said the same thieves stole $20,000 worth of cigarettes from a convenience store and their license plate cameras also captured both of the suspects' vehicles.

“The video is critical at the crime scene because when they do it, you can see their modus operandi and how they do it, how they come in and what they do. So the video basically ties everything together,” Means said.

Police said they found clothing items consistent with the break-ins, a face mask, a garden rock and even a Tulsa city trash can in McCalister's garage.

“It's not hard to understand that he never stopped. Unless he's in jail or incarcerated, that's the only way he's going to stop, in my opinion,” Means said.

Records show McCalister was in prison for weapons offenses, assault, robbery and drugs.

Police are still looking for the other people involved. Investigators say if there are any other burglary victims, they should call Tulsa Police.