Trial scheduled for man charged in death of Oklahoma City girl
A jury trial has been scheduled for a 23-year-old man accused of abducting and fatally stabbing a 10-year-old Oklahoma City girl in November.
Jose Conception Sifuentes, 23, has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Jasmen Gonzalez. (more…)
Court says Oklahoma ban on Islamic law is unconstitutional
The Associated Press reports that an amendment that would ban Oklahoma courts from considering international or Islamic law discriminates against religions and a Muslim community leader has the right to challenge its constitutionality, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.
Oklahoma courts network tutorial
One of the first things I learned when I moved to Oklahoma to become a reporter was how to search the Oklahoma State Courts Network.
OSCN is an online database that allows you to search court dockets and cases and provides links to conduct your own legal research. I use this system every day to do research, so I wanted to give a quick tutorial on how others might be able to use it, too. Watch the video for more.
Preliminary hearing set for former OHP trooper charged with rape
The preliminary hearing for a former Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper charged with second-degree rape has been set.
Patrick Venable, 27, is scheduled to appear in Payne County court at 9 a.m. Jan. 23, 2012. He is accused of taking a woman into custody and transporting her to a residence in Guthrie to have sex.
His attorney, Carl Hughes, said the hearing was moved from Logan County to Payne County because of a bigger courtroom. He said both counsels agreed to the move.
NewsOK will continue to follow the case as it develops. For more information on Venable’s arrest, check out our ongoing coverage page.
Photo by Steve Gooch: Former Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Patrick Venable arrives for his initial court appearance in the Logan County Courthouse in Guthrie , Tuesday, August 16, 2011.
Readers react to Amanda Knox’s overturned murder conviction
There has been a lot of interest in the Amanda Knox case, and we are starting to see it grow in popularity through web searches in Oklahoma. To help readers find more coverage on the overturned conviction and trial, we’ve created a Storify below.
Feel free to share it with others, and let us know what you think about Knox’s acquittal.
Jury finds man guilty in police officer shooting
Jurors reached a verdict Tuesday evening in the trial of Alex Mercado, who was accused of partaking in the ambush of a police officer last year.
Mercado, 18, was found guilty of shooting with intent to kill. Jurors chose a punishment of three years in prison.
Jurors acquitted his mother, Vilma Escalante, 53, of the same offense.
“I’m glad the system works,” said her attorney, Cesar Armenta.
Officer Katie Lawson was shot six times with an assault rifle on Aug. 29, 2010, after helping an Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputy with a traffic stop. She returned fire and survived.
Expect more coverage in Wednesday’s print edition of The Oklahoman.
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.
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.
