Oklahoma City Woman Won’t Face Charges in Birthday Party Assault
The Canadian County District Attorney has declined to file criminal charges against an Oklahoma City woman accused of crashing a 12-year-old girl's birthday party and encouraging her daughter to punch the birthday girl in the face. In the incident, Gina Hinkle, 33, was arrested on complaints of trespassing, burglary, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Her 9-year-old daughter was was ticketed for Oklahoma City assault and battery.
The alleged assault occured at a birthday party on August 28. According to the parents of the birthday girl, Hinkle and her daughter showed up uninvited to the party and started verbally assaulting their daughter because they were upset that Hinkle's daughter had not been invited to the party. Hinkle then allegedly told her daughter, "Stand up for yourself and do something," and the 9-year-old punched the 12-year-old girl in the face, giving her a black eye. The birthday girl's mother then lunged for Hinkle, but she was restrained by her husband.
The alleged victim's father, Shawn Hurst, said the incident was the result of longstanding problems between the two girls. According to Hurst, the problems began when Hinkle's daughter accused his daughter of bullying her on the school bus. However, he claims that the girl's accusations were false, and that video surveillance on the bus showed no wrongdoing on the part of his daughter. Hurst said the families used to live in the same neighborhood, but that the Hursts moved as a result of the ongoing problems with the Hinkles. Hurst told reporters that he is disappointed that Hinkle won't face state charges, but that he has not yet decided whether to file a civil suit.
Gina Hinkle's Oklahoma defense attorney disputes Hurst's story. He claims that Hinkle and her daughter were invited guests at the birthday party, and that the younger child decided to go to the story despite allegedly being bullied by the older girl. After they arrived, things took a turn for the worse, and Hurst's wife, the mother of the birthday girl, tried to assault Hinkle.
Although no state charges will be filed, according to Oklahoma City police, city trespassing tickets are still pending against Gina Hinkle, and her daughter is still facing charges of assault and battery in Oklahoma City.
Rape Charges
One of our client was accused of rape in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. Yesterday, we were successful in having those charges dismissed.
Edmond Oklahoma Apartment Drug Raids Net 18 Arrests
Penalties for drug offenses in Oklahoma are among the toughest in the nation. With most drug-related offenses prosecuted as felonies, Oklahoma drug crimes carry severe sentences, including up to life in prison. Last week, police officers in Edmond, Oklahoma conducted drug raids on two apartment complexes. These raids resulted in eighteen arrests, eleven of which were for drug related offenses. The remaining seven arrests were for outstanding warrants.
The majority of the Edmond arrests were for Oklahoma possession of marijuana or possession of drug paraphernalia. Under Oklahoma law, first offense drug possession is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail. Subsequent drug possession charges in Oklahoma are felonies.
According to Edmond police spokesperson Glynda Chu, the raids on the Rolling Green and Chapel Ridge apartments came as a result of resident complaints about drug trafficking and gang activity. She would not comment on the possibility of future drug raids in the area, stating that the secrecy of such raids is the key to their effectiveness in rounding up arrests.
The Edmond drug raids were not the only cases last week that put the seemingly minor charge of Oklahoma marijuana possession in the spotlight. A second grade teacher with Oklahoma City's Putnam City school district was arrested at her home in Yukon when police raided her home and found a pound of marijuana and two marijuana plants. The teacher and her husband were arrested last Thursday on complaints of marijuana possession and cultivating marijuana in Oklahoma. Even first-offense cultivation charges are prosecuted as a felony and can result in a life sentence.
While fourteen states and Washington, D.C. have enacted legalized medical marijuana laws, Oklahoma has no legal options for the use of marijuana. All marijuana use in Oklahoma is considered "non-medical" and carries strict penalties. While possession and cultivation for personal use seem minor, Oklahoma drug laws make the consequences of these actions quite severe. If you have been charged with a drug crime, including possession, drug trafficking, and cultivation, contact an Oklahoma drug defense lawyer as soon as possible to help create a successful strategy for fighting your charges.
Guilty Plea Entered in Oklahoma Embezzlement Case
As expected, the former auditor for the Commissioners of the Land Office has reached a plea agreement just days before his Oklahoma embezzlement trial was scheduled to begin. Roger Q. Melson, Jr., who was accused of embezzling nearly $1.2 million from the Oklahoma Land Office, pleaded guilty Friday to 174 counts of embezzlement. His trial was scheduled to begin today, August 30.
According to Melson's Oklahoma County white collar crime defense attorney, the embezzlement scheme was hatched in an attempt to pay gambling debts fueled by the defendant's gambling addiction. Melson was accused of creating and registering a fraudulent entity called the Commissioner of the Land Office and opening a bank account for the false organization. He would then intercept checks for the Land Office from the mail room and cash them for his personal use.
Melson is scheduled to be sentenced on November 9. Under statutes pertaining to embezzlement and fraud in Oklahoma, embezzlement of over $500 is a felony, punishable by restitution, fines of up to $10,000, and a maximum of 10 years in prison.
As a result of the scale of this embezzlement case, Governor Brad Henry signed House Bill 3026, which restructured the financial workings of the Commissioners of the Land Office to try to prevent further financial loss. Payments to the Land Office are now processed directly at a bank.
White collar crime in Oklahoma includes embezzlement, fraud, and certain computer crimes, such as internet fraud and online credit fraud. For those who suspect they may be involved in illegal commercial activity, the first step in protecting themselves from prosecution is to immediately cease that activity. Next, individuals who may have had a part in white collar crime should consult an Oklahoma defense attorney for an evaluation of their case. An experienced white collar crime defense lawyer can help you understand your options if charged and can negotiate with prosecutors for the best possible outcome to your case.
Drug Possession Case in Pontotoc County
The Oklahoma City Criminal Defense Lawyers at Slane and Phillips have been having a very steady stream of successes for our clients. Yesterday we achieved another dismissal, this one for Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (or CDS) in Pontotoc county. The CDS in this case was Lortab.
Stolen Property Case
Yesterday, we were successful in getting separate charges of Concealing Stolen Property and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle dismissed. If you've been charged with theft in Oklahoma, or are accused of any other criminal activity, contact Slane & Phillips for a free criminal case evaluation.
Trial Delayed in Oklahoma Death Penalty Case
The trial for accused first degree murderer Joshua Durcho was originally scheduled to begin on September 13, 2010. However, after his court-appointed Oklahoma criminal defense lawyers withdrew from the case citing conflict of interest, a judge agreed to delay the trial. The delay comes in an effort to allow the defendant's new attorneys to review the case. With only a month between taking the case and the scheduled start of the trial, Durcho's new Oklahoma defense team would not have enough time to adequately prepare for a murder trial. Durcho, like every other American citizen, is entitled to a fair trial. Adequate defense is part of that right.
Joshua Durcho is charged with five counts of first degree murder in the strangling deaths of his girlfriend, Summer Rust, 25, and her four children: Kirsten and Autumn Rust, each 7 years old; Teagin Rust, 4; and Evynn Garas, 3. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
While reports do not identify the conflict of interest in which Durcho's original attorneys were involved, conflict of interest within the Oklahoma County Bar Association’s Legal Aid Committee are fairly common. Sometimes, a Legal Aid attorney will represent a client in one issue and will later be called to represent the client in a different matter. If the first case provided privileged information that could impact the outcome of the second case, a conflict of interest arises. This happens so frequently that the OCBA Legal Aid Committee established a "conflicts panel" to try to resolve such issues and refer clients to a pro bono attorney.
Durcho's original Oklahoma defense lawyers are a part of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System.
1st Degree Rape & Forcible Oral Sodomy Charges
The attorneys at Slane and Phillips were able to have a sex crimes case against their client dismissed today in Oklahoma court. The case had two counts - 1st Degree Rape and Forcible Oral Sodomy.
Former Oklahoma Teacher Charged in Sex with Student
Under Oklahoma statutory rape laws, the age of consent for a sexual relationship is 16. That means that anyone under the age of 16 is not legally able to consent to sexual acts. However, the law is not limited by age alone; the statute also declares the following individuals incapable of giving legal consent:
- Those whose judgment and ability to consent are altered by temporary or permanent mental illness or "unsoundness of mind."
- Those under the supervision or legal custody of a state agency, county, municipality, or political subdivision who engage in sexual activity with an employee or contractor of the authority.
For former Oklahoma teacher Shelly Fry, her sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student would not have been a crime had she not been a teacher. Because Shelly Fry was a teacher, however, her relationship with the student--despite his age--resulted in an Oklahoma statutory rape charge.
Allegedly, Fry, a special education teacher, had consensual sex with the teenaged student in her home in September 2009. When her husband discovered inappropriate text messages between Fry and the student, he confronted the student via telephone about the relationship. The student told authorities that he ended the relationship after the confrontation. Shortly thereafter, in October, Shelly Fry resigned from her postion at Hominy High School. School officials report that Fry's resignation came before they had a chance to question her about the allegations.
Even though the teenager admits that his relationship with Fry was consensual, and even though he was legally of age to consent, Shelly Fry is charged with second degree rape in Oklahoma because the young man was her student at the time of the alleged affair.
Shelly Fry turned herself in to authorities last week on a probable cause affidavit alleging second degree rape. She was released on $10,000 bond. Her next court date is August 27.
Pharmacist’s Defense Seeks Dismissal of Oklahoma Murder Charges
Oklahoma City defense attorneys are seeking the dismissal of the first degree murder charge against pharmacist Jerome Ersland who shot and killed an attempted robber at an Oklahoma City pharmacy. The defense asserts that a new opinion by an Oklahoma state pathologist provides evidence that Ersland's killing of the robber was in self-defense.
The case began on May 19, 2009, when Ersland shot a masked robber inside a south Oklahoma City pharmacy. Ersland shot the intruder in the head and then fired five more times into the assailants body. The robber was 16 years old. Prosecutors filed the first degree murder charge in Oklahoma County after surveillance video showed that the first shot hit the would-be robber, Antwun Parker, in the head. They allege that the first shot incapacitated Parker, and that Ersland was wrong to continue to fire the lethal shots.
According to Dr. Collie M. Trant, the chief medical examiner at the time of the killing, the first shot was non-fatal. However, Trant was fired earlier this year, and Dr. Chai Choi was asked to review the case in order to testify. According to Ersland's Oklahoma criminal defense team, Dr. Choi's medical opinion conflicts with Dr. Trant's, meaning that the first shot was indeed fatal, and that the killing of Antwun Parker by Jerome Ersland was justifiable homicide. Ersland's defense lawyers met with Dr. Choi and told the judge that "she believes Dr. Trant was incorrect in his finding that the first shot was nonfatal and that she would have never classified the first wound as a nonfatal gunshot wound. Dr. Choi also said that she had consulted with some of her colleagues at the medical examiner's office and their opinion was also that the first gunshot was not nonfatal."
While the defense argues that a fatal first shot means that Ersland cannot be found guilty of murder for the remaining five shots, the prosecution maintains that the case is still valid. The Oklahoma District Attorney contends, "Ultimately, Antwun Parker's heart was beating, he was breathing and he was alive when Jerome Ersland pumped the five additional rounds in his chest." Prosecutors argue that the defense's motion to dismiss is based on semantics rather than a truly new medical opinion.
An Oklahoma County judge is expected to consider the request for dismissal of the murder charge at a hearing later this month.