Wife of slain fire chief appears in court on murder charge
Rebecca Bryan, 52, appeared in court today for her initial arraignment on a first-degree murder charge. She was arrested one week ago today in connection with her husband’s death after investigators found a gun and other items in a clothes dryer inside their Mustang home.
Keith Bryan, 52, Nichols Hills fire chief, died of a gunshot wound to the head on Sept. 20. The medical examiner’s office has ruled his death a homicide.
Wearing an orange and white striped jail suit, glasses and with shackles on her feet, Bryan walked slowly through the courtroom Friday. She smiled at her son Kent and mouthed, “I love you.”
Her attorney, Gary James, said they will file a bond request at a later date. Bryan’s next court date is set for 9 a.m. Nov. 4, at which James said he will discuss the case with prosecutors.
Our reporters have been following this story from the start and will continue to have the latest details as the case progresses. To help readers keep up with the coverage, we’ve built a web page with all of our articles written about the shooting of Keith Bryan. You can see videos and also listen to 911 calls Becky Bryan made on the night of the shooting.
Photo by Paul Southerland: Becky Bryan, wife of slain fire chief Keith Bryan, walks into the courtroom with her attorney Gary James for her initial arraignment at the Canadian County Courthouse in El Reno Friday.
Follow our staff on Twitter
In our last post, we asked how Oklahomans prefer to get their news. Many people responded and said Twitter is their No.1 source for news.
Thanks to everyone for all of the feedback. In order to help our Twitter friends, we’ve put together a list of some staff members to follow. If you want to see more staff members then check @NewsOK.
And for those of you who don’t use Twitter to get news, no worries. We’ll still be posting on Facebook, sending email and text alerts and updating the website. Think of this more as a way to get to know our staff a little better.
How do you get your breaking news?
There’s no question that the Internet and social media have changed the way we receive news. So to better serve our readers, we want to hear how Oklahomans get their news.
Is it on Twitter? Through email or text alerts? RSS feeds? Facebook?
Do you read the print edition of The Oklahoman or any other newspapers?
Is it through podcasts or videos? Blogs?
As breaking news reporters at NewsOK, we want to be able to interact with readers on multiple platforms and share information with them the way they want it. So as cheesy as this sounds, help us help you. Let us know how you want to get your breaking news. Comment below.
Photo by Steve Gooch: Oklahoma City police take position across the street from a home in the 4100 block of NW 60th in Oklahoma City , April 13 , 2011.
Oklahomans mourn loss of two soldiers
Oklahoma has lost another National Guardsmen in combat.
Spc. Francisco J. Briseno-Alvarez Jr., 27, of Oklahoma City, died Sunday in Laghman province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Brigade Combat Team in Stillwater.
Briseno-Alvarez Jr. was the 12th member of the Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to die in Afghanistan since July 29.
Three other soldiers were also injured in the attack, according to a release from the Oklahoma National Guard.
Briseno-Alvarez graduated from U.S. Grant High School in 2003 and joined the Oklahoma National Guard on Sept. 11, 2010, the Oklahoma National Guard release states.
He attended advanced individual training to become a truck driver, the release states.
His death was announced on the same day that Sgt. Mycal L. Prince was laid to rest. Reporter Bryan Dean attended the funeral for the fallen soldier Monday at The Bridge Assembly of God in Mustang.
Prince, 28, died Sept. 15 in Afghanistan when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire.
“Mycal Prince was a soldier. He wasn’t looking for glory or fame. He was simply willing and ready when his country called,” said Capt. Jeremy Dunn, an Army chaplain who officiated the service Monday.
We’ll have more on Briseno-Alvarez Jr. and Prince in tomorrow’s print edition of The Oklahoman.
Photo by Jim Beckel: Bill Trammell, a Vietnam vet and retired from the US Air Force, stands at attention while the hearse carrying the casket of Sgt. Mycal L. Prince travels west on SH 152 after leaving the church. Trammel was among hundreds of people who stood along the path of the funeral procession.
Former OHP trooper due in court on rape charge
A former Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper accused of taking a woman into custody and driving her to Guthrie to have sex appeared in Logan County court Thursday.
Patrick Venable, 27, was charged with second-degree rape on August 13. He resigned from OHP on June 29.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Venable began his shift at 8 p.m. June 19, and his shift was scheduled to end at 6 a.m. June 20.
Venable told patrol investigators he was on duty and traveling north on Broadway Extension when he noticed a car “all over the road.” He said he pulled over the car near the Kilpatrick Turnpike. He said he detected an odor of alcohol and suspected the woman was intoxicated.
The trooper told the woman to have a seat in his patrol car.
He said he began to question her and at some point turned off the in-car camera because “he did not want a DUI stop recorded where he did not know what he was going to do.”
The hearing to discuss the charge with prosecutors Thursday was rescheduled for 2 p.m. October 27.
Photo by Steve Gooch: Defense attorney Carl Hughes, left and former Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Patrick Venable make their initial court appearance in the Logan County Courthouse in Guthrie, Tuesday, August 16.
Jury finds Bobbi Parker guilty of aiding escape
The jury reached a verdict in the Bobbi Parker trial Wednesday afternoon and found the wife of a former prison warden guilty of helping an inmate escape from prison.
According to the Associated Press, A Greer County jury determined that 49-year-old Bobbi Parker helped convicted killer Randolph Franklin Dial escape from the Oklahoma State Reformatory in 1994. Parker insisted that Dial kidnapped her and kept her from reaching out for help for more than a decade by threatening to harm her daughters. The two were found living together in Texas in 2005.
The jury recommended she serve one year in prison, even though she could have faced up to 10 years. Formal sentencing will be set at a later date.
We’ve seen a mixture of responses to the guilty verdict online and want to know what you think? Love it? Hate it? Haven’t been following the trial? Let us know.
Photo by Photographer Jim Beckel: Bobbi Parker is taken in handcuffs from the courtroom after being found guilty, at the Greer County Courthouse in Mangum , Okla., Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011. Behind her is Greer County Sheriff Devin Huckabay.
Grieving the loss of a fire chief
The community of Nichols Hills and its firefighters are mourning the loss of Fire Chief Keith Bryan, who died after a shooting at his home in Mustang Tuesday night.
Bryan, a former Mustang city councilman, worked for the city’s fire department for 31 years. He was taken to OU Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries Wednesday morning.
The city of Nichols Hills issued a statement expressing condolences to Keith Bryan’s family, saying it’s “a difficult time” for the city and its employees. Fire departments from around the metro offered assistance responding to calls today, but the city said its firefighters remain on duty.
Mustang Fire Chief Carl Hickman said he had known Bryan more than 15 years.
“We’re just in disbelief,” Hickman said. “A lot of the chiefs are pretty close. Keith was highly respected throughout the metro area, both professionally and personally.”
Mustang City Manager Mike Rutledge said he was good friends with Bryan during his time as Ward 5 councilman from 2004-09.
“He was a smart, strong, knowledgeable leader who was very personable,” Rutledge said. “He would help anyone with anything they needed.”
Friends and firefighters posted on social media sites Wednesday morning, offering thoughts and prayers to Bryan’s family. Here are a few of their posts:
