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.

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.

• 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.

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.

Despite Kelsey's repeated brutal injuries, DHS, who had removed the girl from her mother's home, later returned her to the abusive household.  After Kelsey's death, her mother and stepfather each blamed the other for the abuse.  While Porter was charged with first degree murder and child sex abuse in Oklahoma, he pleaded guilty to enabling child abuse.  He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.  Smith, Kelsey's mother, who was not charged with the girl's murder, was also convicted of enabling child abuse in Oklahoma and was sentenced to 27 years.  Raye Dawn Smith is appealing the conviction.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has scheduled an evidentiary hearing for September 1.  According to the court, witness statements in Smith's appeal "contain sufficient information to show at least a strong possibility that a juror received information outside of the courtroom."  These witnesses report that a juror repeatedly told them about the case during the trial and that she admitted to watching media reports about the case  and visiting internet sites dedicated to Kelsey's memory.  Smith's Oklahoma domestic violence lawyer says that the trial was unjust due to juror misconduct, and that the juror's defiance of court orders to avoid media coverage of the story prejudiced the verdict.

In any trial, all participants are responsible for ensuring justice is upheld.  This includes not only the Oklahoma defense attorneys, prosecutors, and judges, but the jurors as well.  Under the justice system, all citizens have the right to a fair trial.  Juror misconduct can destroy the possibility of a fair judgment.

The former death row inmate was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1982 killing of Terry Gene Neal in Oklahoma City.  Neal was killed after his attacker stabbed him in the throat with a broken bottle, and stole his car and television.  There was no forensic evidence to tie Fisher to the crime, and the prosecution largely relied on the testimony of witness Fadjo Johnson, who was originally charged with Neal's murder.  Johnson said that he and Fisher met Neal in an Oklahoma City area known for homosexual prostitution.  The witness claimed that Fisher killed Neal after having sex with him.

Despite such shaky evidence, Fisher was convicted of first degree murder in 1983 and sentenced to death.  However, he appealed the decision saying that his Oklahoma defense attorney inadequately defended him against the charges.  At Fisher's appeal, the attorney who represented him in the first trial admitted that he let his personal feelings about homosexuality interfere with his work.  An appeals court ruled that the defense lawyer was "grossly inept" and that he "sabotaged his client's defense."  The murder conviction was overturned.

In 2005, history seemed to repeat itself at Fisher's retrial.  He was again convicted of Neal's murder and again sentenced to death.  Just as before, he appealed the conviction on grounds of inadequate counsel.  His Oklahoma City defense lawyer for the second trial admitted that he was in the midst of substance abuse problems during the retrial, and that he was unable to properly defend his client.

After two convictions overturned on appeal, prosecutors were faced with the dilemma of trying Fisher a third time--this time with evidence that was nearly 28 years old.  Rather than attempting a third trial, prosecutors accepted a plea agreement negotiated with Fisher's current Oklahoma criminal attorney.  As part of the deal, Fisher pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.  He was given credit for time served, 27 years, and the rest of his sentence was suspended.  As a result of the agreement, Fisher will be released from prison into an intensive reintigration program in another state, which is designed to help Fisher transition back into society.  Fisher's current defense attorney says that the program usually takes six months to three years to complete. 

 As a stipulation of his plea agreement and subsequent release, Fisher is order never to set foot in Oklahoma again.

Tybream Demont Rogers petitioned the court to expunge his criminal record of three first degree murder charges stemming from his alleged involvement in a shoot-out that left three people dead.  Rogers was never accused of being the shooter, but he was charged in connection with the fatal shooting.  His murder trial ended in mistrial after his Oklahoma City criminal defense lawyer raised allegations of sexual misconduct against an arresting officer.  An appellate court ruled that retrying Rogers would amount to double jeopardy; therefore, a retrial would be unconstitutional.

In Rogers's Oklahoma expungement petition, he claims that the charges against him have hindered him from finding a job.  He asserts that it is unjust that charges of which he was never convicted are preventing him from finding gainful employment.  Those arguing against an expungement of Rogers's record say that an expungement is not warranted because the case against Rogers was never dismissed, and he was never convicted or acquitted of the crime. 

Expungement law in Oklahoma has specific guidelines for the sealing of non-conviction information.  Title 22 Section 18 and Title 22 991(c) of the Oklahoma Statutes describe the methods of obtaining the different types of expungement under Oklahoma law.  For someone wishing to clear or purge his or her record, an experienced Oklahoma expungement lawyer can help determine the type of expungement for which he or she is eligible and will help petition the court to seal or purge the client's record of arrests, criminal charges, and convictions.

Pacer Wynn Gooding, 42, was arrested last week and charged with his second Oklahoma DUI with a blood alcohol concentration of .08, the state's legal limit.  Under Oklahoma law, a second DUI within ten years of the first conviction is charged as a felony.  If convicted, the driver faces a jail sentence of one to five years. 

Gooding was found with marijuana at the time of his arrest and was also charged with Oklahoma possession of a controlled substance and driving while suspended.

While charges against Gooding are serious, having bail set at $1 million seems unwarranted at first glance.  However, Gooding's history of traffic offenses is so extensive that prosecutors deemed him "a threat to society."   Gooding's most recent arrest was not only his second DUI arrest, but also his fifth incident of possession of marijuana and his eighteenth charge of driving while suspended.  An Oklahoma judge agreed that being a serial traffic offender made Gooding a menace to the general public and set the million dollar bond.  Gooding's Oklahoma DUI lawyer was not available for comment.

Pacer Wynn Gooding's prodigious police record dates back nearly 25 years and, in addition to the charges listed above,  includes charges of transporting an open container, second-degree burglary, malicious injury of property, grand larceny, concealing stolen property, leaving the scene of an accident, four counts of second-degree forgery and numerous traffic offenses.

A bond of $1 million for traffic offenses shows that a judge is unlikely to show leniency in sentencing if Gooding is convicted.  His Oklahoma DUI defense attorney will have to work diligently to overcome judicial prejudices and ensure his constitutional rights are upheld.

Earls is making headlines again as his Oklahoma defense lawyer argued that facing trial for additional charges against the victim and her brother would amount to double jeopardy.

Protection from "double jeopardy" is a constitutional right that protects citizens from being tried twice for the same crime.  Under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, "[no person shall] be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb."  This law essentially protects citizens from being tried for the same crime following an acquittal, being retried after a conviction, and facing multiple punishments for the same crime.

While Earls's Oklahoma sex crime defense attorney argued that a new trial would subject his client to double jeopardy after his initial conviction, a judge agreed with the state attorney general's office that, although the victims were the same in both cases, the accusations and charges are different from those in the original conviction.  The judge ruled that there is no evidence that prosecutors and the defense agreed that all crimes and acts committed by David Harold Earls were settled by the original plea agreement.  The decision clears the way for a hearing today after Earls's grand jury indictment on three new counts of  indecent and lewd acts with a child younger than 16.

Earls was originally convicted of forcible oral sodomy and first degree rape in Oklahoma in 2009.

Last week, a 73-year-old Oklahoma man was charged with solicitation of a minor and a number of other offenses after he allegedly pulled a 14-year-old girl into his vehicle and offered to pay her for sex.  The probable cause affidavit for Duane Nelson's arrest reports that he stopped his vehicle to ask the girl for directions.  When she approached his vehicle, Nelson allegedly grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into the truck, drove her to a city park, and offered to pay her $100 for sex.  The girl says she told Nelson that her boyfriend was supposed to meet her at the park, and he let her go.  She hid nearby before calling police.

Under the supervision of police, the girl called Nelson the next day and offered to meet him at a local high school.  Nelson said that he would provide alcohol for the girl at their meeting.

When he arrived at the designated time and location, Nelson was arrested with a loaded firearm in his pocket.  He has been charged with numerous crimes, including kidnapping, indecent proposals to a minor for sex, solicitation, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and attempting to provide a minor an intoxicating beverage.