Police nab person of interest in shooting, dismemberment of four bicyclists in Oklahoma

Police have apprehended a person of interest in the shooting and dismemberment of four missing bicyclists in Oklahoma.

Missing persons Alex Stevens, Mike Sparks and brothers Mark and Billy Chastain were last seen alive on Oct. 9 when they rode off on their bikes in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Four days later, the dismembered corpses of the four men were discovered in the Deep Fork River. They had sustained gunshot wounds before being dismembered, according to police.

One of the victim’s phones had last pinged near a salvage yard owned by Joe Kennedy, who was interviewed by police Friday. 

While no evidence was found on Mr. Kennedy’s property, investigators found signs of a violent event next door at a scrap yard.

Mr. Kennedy then went missing Saturday. He was apprehended Tuesday by authorities in Daytona Beach, Florida. He was driving a vehicle that was reported stolen Monday in Okmulgee, police said.

Mr. Kennedy is being held without bond in Florida on a grand theft auto charge.

A warrant has been issued in Okmulgee District Court to accelerate a judgment and sentence Mr. Kennedy received for a shooting in 2012. That warrant has a bond of $500,000.

Mr. Kennedy has not been named by Okmulgee authorities as a suspect in the murders, only as a person of interest. Okmulgee authorities have begun the process of having him sent back to Oklahoma.

Authorities also said that the four men were on their way to commit a crime at the time of their murder, hoping to “‘hit a lick’ big enough for all of them.” 

“Hitting a lick” is slang for committing a crime but police said they didn’t know what the men were planning.