SLAP ON THE WRIST? That’s how many see the sentences for Matthew Wilson and Candice Logan, who toppled a 500-foot guyed FM tower to scavenge copper worth under $100. The damage topped $500,000 and knocked KITX off the air—yet Logan drew an 8-month sentence and Wilson a 30-month sentence after pleading guilty to transporting stolen goods across state lines. Choctaw County (OK) Sheriff Terry Park was livid when the tower was felled, saying, “We’ve got to go back to sending all these crackheads to prison for a long, long time. Bury these worthless thieves in prison.” The court, clearly, had a lighter touch.
Two Oklahoma residents received what many consider light sentences after a copper theft that collapsed a 500-foot FM tower and caused more than $500,000 in damage, knocking Payne Media Group’s K95.5 (KITX) off the air in January 2024.
Prosecutors said Candice Marie Logan and Matthew Carl Wilson cut a guy-wire at the KITX site near Hugo in the early hours of Jan. 16, 2024, sending the top half of the tower to the ground. They then tore out copper cabling, sawed through generator wiring, and even removed the public meter box from a nearby utility pole. The copper’s street value? Possibly around $100, according to the station’s owner.
Logan and Wilson hauled the metal to Paris, Texas, where they tried to sell it. Both later pleaded guilty (document) (article) to transporting stolen goods across state lines—a federal charge that carries a maximum of 10 years.
Despite the catastrophic damage of the 50,000-watt facility, which was a total loss, the sentences handed down in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma were 8 months for Logan and 30 months for Wilson.
Restitution roulette: Don’t bet the house
The court stated that Wilson owes $283,749 to Payne Media Group, with repayment expected to commence after he completes his 30-month prison term. Of that total, $45,067 is joint and several with co-defendant Logan.
Logan’s amount is payable $250/month beginning 60 days after her release. However, it’s unlikely either will fully repay Payne’s losses.
Did the time fit the crime?
The punishment struck many in broadcasting and public safety circles as disproportionately small, given the magnitude of the crime and its impact on service.
Just two days after the collapse, authorities arrested Logan and Wilson following leads from a confidential informant and coordinated efforts by the Hugo and Paris Police Departments. They were initially charged with theft and vandalism.
At the time, Choctaw County Sheriff Terry Park posted an unfiltered reaction to the arrests:
“We’ve got to go back to sending all these crackheads to prison for a long, long time. Bury these worthless thieves in prison.”
Following the collapse, KITX owner Will Payne said, “We’re hunting down somebody that brought down a tower in order to get a little hundred-dollar fix of copper,” while surveying the damage last year. “Seriously, that’s about all it’s going to be worth to them. Let’s make them pay,” Payne said.
