2 men arrested following child predator bust in Canadian County
CANADIAN COUNTY, Oklahoma (KOCO) The Canadian County Sheriff’s Office recently led an investigation that resulted in the arrests of two men accused of sexual communication with a minor and lewd acts with a child during an undercover sting.
On Dec. 14, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office apprehended 39-year-old Krishna Skanes, of Oklahoma City, after the Canadian County District Attorney’s Office issued an arrest warrant. An investigation revealed that Skanes sent a photograph of his genitals to a middle school child in Canadian County, according to a news release.
Skanes then allegedly tried to text with the child, but the child reported the photograph to authorities. Canadian County Sheriff’s Office officials said the reported victim’s parents pretended to be the child and told Skanes that they were 14 years old.
A Kings Mountain Police officer is expected to recover after being shot Saturday night while responding to a suspicious person call near the country club in Kings Mountain. The suspected shooter also was injured in the shooting.
Kings Mountain Police Cpl. Frank Lee Whittington Jr. was taken to Atrium Health-Cleveland in Shelby after exchanging fire with an unidentified man after responding to a call about a suspicious person at a home on Downing Drive, said Kings Mountain Police Chief Lisa Proctor.
“We are very thankful that he is alive and that we are not planning funeral number three in the last week and a half for another law enforcement officer,” Proctor said.
Dec 18, 2020
NORMAN â The Cleveland County Sheriffâs Office and other local agencies arrested six suspects last week during an undercover child sexual predator operation.
The six men were arrested over a period of two days starting on Dec. 10, and two of the suspects, Krishna Skanes and Leocadio Picon, have each been charged with one felony count of soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor by use of technology.
The felony carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and/or a $10,000 fine.
According to a press release from the sheriffâs office, the suspects were arrested during Operation Traveler 4, an undercover operation launched by CCSO deputies and other law enforcement agencies. The operation focused on finding suspects willing to engage in sexual acts with underage children.
Cleveland County officials said it has arrested six people on suspicion of trafficking.
Deputies with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office said they created a profile presenting themselves as children, luring the suspects in.
Cleveland County officials said the arrests were made within a three-day span earlier this month. This is the fourth such operation they’ve conducted this year. Detectives said they talked to suspects on a variety of online platforms before setting up an in-person meeting.
“These predators, they know where these kids are at,” said Capt. Steve Lowe with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office. “They know which sites these kids are chatting on.”
A man and a woman face charges related to the fentanyl overdose deaths of two Cleveland County men in June.
Cleveland County Sheriff s Office investigators say Amanda Pruitt of Blacksburg, South Carolina, and Quintel Malik Houser, of Shelby, sold the synthetic opioid fentanyl to two men who later died of an overdose of the drug.
Both face the charge of death by distribution. Under North Carolina law, the two face a range of punishment if convicted as charged from a minimum of 15 months in prison to a maximum of 231 months in prison, based on prior criminal histories and other mitigating or aggravating factors.