Charges Not Expected for Oklahoma Woman Who Shot Intruders
The woman who shot two teenage intruders, one fatally, at her home in Midwest City last week is not expected to face charges, according to Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes. While a report on the shooting will be sent to the district attorney's office, the Chief of Police says that it appears that the shooting was legal, and that the woman was within her rights under Oklahoma's "Make My Day" law. She will not likely face charges of homicide or shooting with intent to kill in Oklahoma.
In the incident, two 15-year-old step-brothers kicked in the door of the woman's home last Thursday morning, and attempted to steal her flat-screen television while a 17-year-old friend acted as lookout. The noise awakened the woman, who was at the home with her two young children. When the woman found the intruders in her living room, she fired at them, shooting both. Marquis Lee Patterson died at the scene, and his stepbrother, Dewayne Edward Kemp, fled with a gunshot wound to the stomach.
Because Patterson's death occurred during the commission of a felony, Kemp and the lookout, DeAungelo Quiae Johnson, have been charged with first-degree murder. Although none of the teenagers appeared to be armed, under Oklahoma law, anyone who commits a felony during which a death occurs may be charged with murder. According to Chief Clabes, "It really makes no difference whether they were armed or not; they were committing a felony." Johnson is being held without bail in the Oklahoma County Jail, where Kemp will be transferred when he is released from the hospital. Despite the fact that neither young man was armed, they will be charged with the Oklahoma violent crime.
Oklahoma's Make My Day law was enacted in 1987. According to Senator Charles Ford (R) who fought for the bill, "The purpose of the law is to protect the victim of crime who defends his home and his family against unlawful intrusion from any criminal prosecution or civil action. We considered it outrageous that someone who protects his home and family should suffer. Our law says you can use any force, including deadly force, to defend your home."
Prior to the legislation, homeowners were only allowed to use like force in the defense of their families and property. For example, if an intruder was armed with a knife, the homeowner would not be able to use a firearm to protect themselves and their property. Lethal force, therefore, would only be legal and justified in defense against an armed burglary in Oklahoma.
Woman Receives Probation for Oklahoma City Sex Bribe
An Oklahoma City woman was pleaded guilty last week to offering sexual favors to a police officer in return for not taking her to jail. As part of a plea agreement negotiated by her Oklahoma City defense lawyer, Regina Marie Dotson, 39, pleaded guilty to offering a bribe, larceny, and public intoxication, admitting to the court, "I offered a sexual bribe to an officer to not take me to jail." In return for her guilty plea, Dotson will receive 10 years' probation for the crimes.
Oklahoma City police sergeant Kevin Parton testified that he arrested Regina Dotson last year after she shoplifted $15.25 worth of merchandise from a local grocery store. As the officer drove her to jail, Dotson, who has a record of Oklahoma City drug offenses, began to offer him sexual favors if he would not take her to jail.
Parton says he started recording Parton's sexual bribes when she became increasingly explicit.
Bribery is a white collar crime in Oklahoma in which money or other compensation is promised or given in an attempt to sway one's opinions or decisions. Both offering and accepting bribes are considered crimes. Under Oklahoma law, "The term 'bribe' signifies any money, goods, right in action, property, thing of value or advantage, present or prospective, or any promise or undertaking, asked, given, or accepted, with a corrupt intent to influence unlawfully the person to whom it is given, in his action, vote or opinion, in any public or official capacity."
Any individual charged with offering or accepting a bribe in Oklahoma should consult an experienced Oklahoma white collar defense attorney as soon as possible to begin protecting his or her rights and to craft a strategy for successful defense.
Oklahoma City Fraud Investigation Nets 30 Arrests
In 2009, Oklahoma's Department of Human Services (DHS) began an investigation into food stamp fraud in Oklahoma City. Last week, the first arrests were made as a result of the department's sting operation.
During the fraud investigation, undercover agents and informants went to Oklahoma City area convenience stores and attempted to misuse food stamp cards to defraud the state. According to investigators, most of the fraud occurred when store clerks gave undercover agents cash back from purchases made with food stamps.
In one scenario, a grocery clerk gave an undercover agent $100 cash back from a $200 purchase that never actually occurred. In other situations, an informant would use the food stamps to buy merchandise at one store and exchange it for cash at another store. For example, one store clerk paid $45 for beverages purchased for $104 in food stamps at another location.
Another way the cards were used fraudulently is by store clerks who borrowed or purchased the food stamps for personal use. One clerk paid an agent $101 to use a card to purchase $181 in groceries for his own family.
While nearly 30 store clerks and owners have been arrested, the dollar amount of money defrauded has only been released in two cases.
Muluneh Zeleke, owner of the Z & Z convenience store in Oklahoma City, is accused of defrauding the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program, the food stamp program, out of $1,224,888 between March 2007 and February 2010. Police say Zeleke allowed customers to swipe their cards for cash, keeping half of the cash for himself. The food stamp program expressly prohibits merchants from allowing customers to redeem the cards for cash. Zeleke was indicted on one count of conspiracy to defraud and four counts of aiding and abetting food stamp violations. He faces five years in prison and $250,000 in fines for each of the five counts.
Muhammand Zahid, owner of Oklahoma City's Ghani Mart, was indicted in a similar scheme, which defrauded the program out of $650,000 between December 2007 and September 2010. He has been charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud and five counts of food stamp violations.
In addition to fines, prison, and probation, if convicted, the men accused of Oklahoma fraud will also be expected to forfeit the illegally accumulated money, paying restitution of nearly $1.8 million to the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program.
Convicted Sex Offender Arrested in Oklahoma City Child Rape
Police arrested a registered Oklahoma sex offender last week in connection with the Oklahoma City rape of a six-year-old boy. Lucifer Scott Hawkins, 30, was on probation for twice failing to comply with the Oklahoma sex offender registry requirements at the time of his arrest.
Hawkins's arrest came as police were responding to a Crime Stoppers tip to check on him at a home in northwest Oklahoma City. As officers were en route to the home, dispatchers received a 911 call reporting a child rape at the same residence. Police noticed a car leaving the area and pulled it over, finding Hawkins inside. After interviewing the registered sex offender, police arrested him on a complaint of Oklahoma rape of a child under 16. At the end of last week, Hawkins was being held in the Oklahoma County Jail on $100,000 bond.
According to police, the initial tip to which they were responding was not related to the rape of the child.
Lucifer Hawkins was required to register as an Oklahoma sex offender after being convicted of a 1997 rape of a 5-year-old girl in Delaware County. In that case, he was charged with two counts of lewd acts with a minor and two counts of first degree rape. His Oklahoma sex crimes lawyer was able to negotiate a plea agreement in which all charges were dismissed or suspended except for one count of first degree rape. Hawkins was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his child rape conviction, but was released in May 2006.
In 2008 and again in 2009, Hawkins was convicted of two counts of failure to comply with the Oklahoma sex offender registry. His sentences for the 2008 counts and the 2009 counts were to be served concurrently. He spent two months in jail for failing to register and began probation for a four year suspended sentence in January 2010.
Speedy Acquittal in Oklahoma City Manslaughter Case
After deliberating only five minutes, a jury acquitted a man charged with first-degree manslaughter in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma County judge who heard the case said the verdict was among the most quickly returned he has ever seen.
The defendant, William Charles Dismuke, 28, was accused of first-degree manslaughter after the stabbing death of Martez Hollins after a New Year's Eve party on January 1, 2009. There were no witnesses who reported seeing the stabbing, and Dismuke was only a suspect because people had reported seeing the two men fighting earlier in the evening.
According to Dismuke's Oklahoma City violent crime lawyer, his client was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. "My client walked into the middle of a big gang fight. The only reason he was charged was because at some point he was in close proximity to the victim," said the Oklahoma defense lawyer.
Witnesses statements and other evidences showed that several fights broke out after the party at the Kings of Nightlife Studio in Oklahoma City. Security guards said that there were over 300 people at the party, and Dismuke's Oklahoma County defense attorney pointed out that there were over a hundred people in proximity to the victim. During the fighting gunshots were fired, and initial reports about Oklahoma City's first homicide of 2009 reported that Hollins was shot to death. One local news report from the day of the murder stated that police admitted "loud noise and crowded conditions inside the club have made it difficult to find a witness who really saw what happened to Hollins."
Even the Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted the case said that the evidence in Dismuke's manslaughter trial was circumstantial.
The jury did not find that there was enough evidence to convict Dismuke of manslaughter in Hollins's death, and returned a verdict of not guilty after deliberating only a few minutes.
William Dismuke was free on bail while awaiting his trial.
Oklahoma City Sex Offender Shoots Himself When Police Arrive
Last week, we brought you the story of a man who killed himself after being charged with first-degree manslaughter in an Oklahoma DUI wreck. Now, an Oklahoma City sex offender has died after shooting himself when detectives arrived at his door.
Police investigating the kidnapping and Oklahoma City sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl wanted to question Larry Dale Kirby, 43, about his possible involvement in the crime. When officers arrived, Kirby was behind a locked door in the home. Just as they were about to open the door, they heard a gunshot. Kirby had shot himself in the face and died the next day at a local hospital.
Oklahoma City police say they have no evidence linking Kirby to the crime, and were only there to follow up on a lead about the attack. In the case, the victim told police that she was walking to school at Jefferson Middle School in Oklahoma City at about 7:45 a.m. when a man approached her from behind. The girl told investigators that the assailant put a gun to her head and ordered her into a car. She claims he drove her around for about half an hour before sexually assaulting her.
Kirby had a criminal record with convictions for second degree burglary, selling alcohol to a minor, and methamphetamine possession. He was required to register as an Oklahoma sex offender after his 1998 conviction of lewd acts with a minor in Oklahoma County.
Unfortunately, as a registered sex offender, Kirby saw no alternative but to end his own life when he was wanted for questioning in connection with another Oklahoma child molestation. However, there are always legal options. Kirby had not been arrested or charged, and police did not even have a warrant for his arrest. Individuals who are questioned by police always have the right to have an Oklahoma defense lawyer present to ensure that their rights are protected during all stages of the case.
Man Charged with Oklahoma DUI Manslaughter Kills Himself
A man charged with first degree manslaughter in a fatal Oklahoma DUI accident that claimed the life of a 15-year-old girl died last week of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
On Monday, September 27, Patrick Hughes was charged with first degree manslaughter and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He killed himself Thursday before he was ever taken into custody.
Hughes's manslaughter charge came after an August 20 crash that killed 15-year-old Sara Dietz and injured her 18-year-old sister, Misty Dietz. After the accident, Hughes was determined to have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.23, nearly three times the legal limit for DUI in Oklahoma. Additionally, authorities found that Hughes was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the collision.
In the incident, Patrick Hughes, 40, was attempting to pass a car driven by the older Dietz sister. When he saw an oncoming SUV, he attempted to swerve back into his lane, striking the Dietz vehicle and pushing it into the path of the SUV. Sara Dietz, a passenger in the car driven by her sister, died as a result of the collision, leading to Hughes's manslaughter charge in addition to charges of driving under the influence.
The Oklahoma DUI charge and first degree manslaughter charge were not the first in Hughes's criminal history. Patrick Hughes previously pleaded guilty to public intoxication and to transporting an open container of alcohol. Additionally, he has had four charges of Oklahoma domestic assault and battery.
If convicted of first degree manslaughter in Oklahoma, Hughes would have faced a minimum of four years in prison for the offense.
Oklahoma Murder Defendant Seeks Disqualification of DA
The case of Jerome Ersland, the Oklahoma City pharmacist accused of murder after killing an armed robber, continues to face legal complications. First, the medical examiner was dismissed, and subsequent M.E. reports appeared to conflict with the original findings. Next, Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure excused herself from the case and was replaced by Judge Ray Elliott. Now, Ersland's Oklahoma defense attorneys are asking the judge to disqualify Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and his assistants. According to defense lawyers, Prater has displayed unethical actions as his desire for a conviction has become personal. Ersland's lawyers claim that the District Attorney has placed his "animosity" against Ersland and his appearance in the public eye above the pursuit of justice.
Ersland's Oklahoma County murder lawyers filed a motion asking for the D.A.'s disqualification, saying that Prater is driven not by justice, but "by a desire to have a conviction at any cost." Ersland and his attorneys question Prater's motives and assert that the defendant has a right to a prosecutor whose primary motive is justice, not public opinion.
Furthermore, Ersland's Oklahoma defense team claims that the Oklahoma County DA acted unethically when he released surveillance video of the shooting. The defense stated, "There was no legitimate purpose for the release of the video other than to stir public sentiment against Mr. Ersland. The release of the video did nothing to further the administration of justice." Prater, however, says that the release of the video was justified, demonstrating to the public that, while they do have a right to defend themselves, there is a limit to the actions they should take.
Under Oklahoma law, citizens have a right to defend themselves against attackers. Ersland claims that he was protecting himself and two female employees from the armed robbers. He was charged with murder after prosecutors deemed that he continued to shoot the robber and fired the fatal shots after disabling one robber, removing the imminent danger.
Ersland's trial is scheduled to begin December 6, but if Judge Elliott rules in favor of the defense's motion and disqualifies Prater and his assistants, the trial will likely be delayed.