Although there's probably more important news to write about, the big story to come out of Oklahoma this week was that now-famous Oklahoma drug smuggler Badlands McNally was caught at the Jenks airport with 100-lbs of meth in his airplane.
Yep, that's right. Badlands McNally was caught at the airport with 100lbs of meth. Thanks to that incredible name, and the following adorable, totally defeated mugshot, it quickly became a national "odd news" story:
Yep, that's Badlands McNally. If John C. Reilly's agent isn't on the phone right now securing the rights to the The Ballad of Badlands McNally, there's something wrong with this world.
Here's some details about his arrest from The Tulsa World:
Authorities arrested a Tulsa man accused of drug trafficking after over 100 pounds of meth were allegedly discovered on a plane he landed at Jones Riverside Airport, according to a court document...
Investigators saw the plane land at Jones Riverside Airport about 8 p.m. and reportedly found it was piloted by [Badlands] McNally. They started a pilot certification inspection and McNally gave them his pilot credentials. While the credentials were being verified, investigators asked McNally where he was coming from.
He said he came from Watonga after visiting his family, but did not say he was at Lake Havasu City first. Investigators asked why he did not say he was at Lake Havasu City, but he could not provide an explanation, according to the affidavit.
McNally reportedly became defensive and agitated, and investigators asked if anyone asked him to transport anything for them.
If we were to make a list of Oklahomans who should have been on Tiger King, but weren't, Badlands McNally would be right up there. He has all the characteristics you'd look for in a cast member from the show – the look, the name, and most importantly, the meth.
Seriously, how did he and Joe Exotic never connect? I could see Badlands flying Joe and tiger clubs to malls all across the Midwest, or taking secret recon missions to map out Carol's compound in Florida. It's a shame it didn't happen.
Anyway, you can read more about Badlands McNally at The Tulsa World. We wish him the best of luck getting out of his trouble with the law and, apparently, some pissed-off meth cartels based out of Arizona.
