By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

MIAMI, Okla. — Mona Lester had just halted for a stop sign when she saw the silver Dodge Charger enter the intersection from the east.

Lester, stopped at the intersection of roads 550 and 50 west of Commerce on Monday afternoon, watched as the Charger made a partial U-turn and pulled in front of her vehicle, blocking her path.

She then watched as the driver, later identified as 27-year-old Jason N. Holland, allegedly left his vehicle, walked over to her passenger side, jerked open the door and snatched her purse from the floorboard.

As he left, she later told authorities, Holland told her: “Have a nice day.”

Lester was able to obtain the Charger’s license-plate number before Holland and his passenger, later identified as his 30-year-old brother, Jeremy Holland, fled west.

Within the next couple of hours, the Holland brothers reportedly suffered a flat tire, drove through a family’s back yard but got chased off by a dog, then got chased out of a woman’s house before they were confronted by a deputy with the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department.

The officer arrested both men, undeterred by Jason Holland’s reported bluster about his previous felony convictions, hard time in prison and purported Aryan Brotherhood ties.

“We haven’t verified that yet,” said Ottawa County Undersheriff Bob Ernst, of Holland’s Aryan Brotherhood affiliation.

Jason Holland, of Pittsburg, Kan., and Jeremy Holland, of Parsons, Kan., were still in custody Tuesday, awaiting charges that the district attorney’s office said are expected to be filed today. The brothers reportedly were still boasting about their impressive felony records, their previous prison stints and their gang affiliations while they were being booked.

The Sheriff’s Department said all that the Holland brothers allegedly took during Monday’s spree was Lester’s purse, which later was retrieved. The only things missing from the purse were the battery and back cover to Lester’s cell phone.

Less than an hour after Lester saw her purse stolen, Peggy Davis, who lives seven miles from the intersection along East 30 Road, saw a silver Dodge Charger drive past her home four times. Davis later told county authorities that she noticed the Charger because of the noise from a front tire, which was going flat.

Davis then watched the Charger drive through her yard and up to her pool.

“Mrs. Davis stated she and her therapeutic foster children were in the pool when the suspect drove through her yard right up to the pool,” according to an affidavit filed by sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Cook. Cook was the officer who ultimately found and arrested the Holland brothers.