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.
Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Fatal Oklahoma DUI Accident
A man who was twice arrested for Oklahoma DUI while awaiting trial for charges related to an earlier fatal DUI accident has been sentenced to 13 years in prison. John Matthew Sing, 44, pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter in the 2007 crash that killed his common law wife, Shelley Gail Burton, 43. Burton was a passenger in Sing's pickup when he ran a stop sign and hit a tree.
After the accident, Sing was arrested and charged with DUI and first degree manslaughter. He was released from jail after a judge reduced his bail. Less than a year later, while Sing was free on bail, he was again arrested for DUI in Oklahoma when a police officer noticed his jeep veering across the center line. The officer pulled over the vehicle, and Sing admitted that he had drunk several beers before driving. The man was again arrested for DUI and again released on bail.
His freedom didn't last long.
On May 1, 2009, John Matthew Sing was arrested yet again for DUI--six months after his second Oklahoma DUI arrest and approximately a year and a half after he caused the fatal accident that killed his wife. The arresting officer reported that, when Sing was arrested, he was so heavily intoxicated that he could not even walk without assistance.
In sentencing Sing after his first degree manslaughter conviction, an Oklahoma County judge considered the two subsequent DUI arrests. Judge Jerry D. Bass commiserated with the defendant and the victim's family, saying that cases like Sing's are "sad, sad cases all around because [they leave] everybody hurt." However, he noted that the two DUI arrests while Sing was out on bail showed no judgment on the part of the defendant.
Sing was sentenced to 13 years in prison for first degree manslaughter in the first DUI arrest. Each subsequent misdemeanor DUI conviction resulted in a one year sentence, with each sentence to be served concurrently.
Application to Revoke Probation and Victim’s Protection Order
Oklahoma City Criminal Defense Attorneys from Slane and Phillips were able to have 3 separate cases dismissed this past week in Oklahoma County Court. These included:
- Victim's Protective Order - DISMISSED
- 2nd Degree Burglury:
Application to Revoke Defendent's Probation - DISMISSED - Driving Under the Influence (DUI):
Application to Revoke Defendent's Probation - DISMISSED
Charges Filed in Oklahoma Triple Homicide
An Oklahoma City man has been charged in the deaths of a mother and her two young children. Shaun Michael Bosse, 27, is accused of killing Katrina Griffin, her 8-year-old son, and her 6-year-old daughter at their home in Dibble on July 23, then setting fire to their home to destroy evidence. The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's office reports that Katrina Griffin and her son Christian died of stab wounds, and that Griffin's daughter, Chasity Hammer, died of injuries sustained in the fire.
Because of these violent crimes in Oklahoma, Bosse has been charged in McClain County District Court with three counts of first degree murder and one count of first degree arson.
The night before the bodies were found, Griffin called police to her home; Bosse was present and told police that he had been dating the woman for about two weeks. While an affidavit from the incident does not list the reason for the call, an investigating officer who interviewed Bosse after the bodies were discovered the next day noticed injuries to the suspect's arm and fist that were consistent with a hole found punched in the wall of the victims' home. The woman's call to police, the physical damage to her home, and Bosse's injuries seem to suggest Oklahoma domestic violence.
Bosse is also accused of theft after police discovered that he sold the victim's televisions and entertainment items at Oklahoma City metro area pawn shops after the killings.
The defendant's next court date for the Oklahoma murder charges has not yet been scheduled.