PRESS RELEASES - APRIL 2008
| April 01, 2008 | PARKER, Sara Renee | Sentencing |
| April 01, 2008 | SOLORZANO-EQUIHUA, Jacinto | Sentencing |
| April 02, 2008 | JORDAN, Garland | Sentencing |
| April 02, 2008 | RHEA, Laurence Robert | Sentencing |
| April 02, 2008 | SINGLETON, Chance Wayne | Sentencing |
| April 10, 2008 | WORLEY, Cyndy K. | Guilty Plea |
| April 11, 2008 | COVINGTON, James Lee | Guilty Plea |
| April 14, 2008 | ROBERTS, Katherine Meladie | Denial of Sentence Relief |
| April 17, 2008 | FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS BENTLEY, Dustin Kyle DARNELL, Jennifer Joan HOGAN, Robert Charles HULL, James |
Indictments |
| April 17, 2008 | STIPE, Francis D. | Guilty Plea |
| April 23, 2008 | YATES, Jarrod Anthony | Arraignment |
| April 29, 2008 | DARNELL, Jennifer Joan | Guilty Plea |
| April 29, 2008 | FIELDS, Edward Leon, Jr. | Denial of Petition for Rehearing |
FOR RELEASE: April 01, 2008
SUBJECT: PARKER, Sara Renee
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that SARA RENEE PARKER, age 23, of Ft. Smith, Arkansas, was sentenced for Conspiracy, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
“PARKER was sentenced to three months imprisonment with credit for time served, 24 months supervised release and ordered to pay a Special Assessment of $100.00,” stated U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “PARKER pled guilty on August 30, 2008.”
“PARKER was one of 14 co-defendants indicted in July, 2007. Charges arose from an investigation conducted by the United States Secret Service. In October and November, 2006 PARKER conspired with others to create and pass more than $75,000.00 in counterfeit checks in Arkansas and Oklahoma,” stated U.S. Attorney Sperling. “PARKER is the final defendant to be sentenced.”
“PARKER agreed with co-defendants, Phillip Daren Shockey and Linda Denise Blake a/k/a Dee Plank, to cash counterfeit checks. PARKER cashed counterfeit checks totaling over $9,700.00 at various banks in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. The fraudulent checks were made on a home computer using actual bank account information obtained from stolen mail.”
“On January 24, 2008, PHILLIP DAREN SHOCKEY, age 42, of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 95 months imprisonment, 36 months supervised release, and ordered to pay a Special Assessment of $200.00. SHOCKEY was also ordered to pay $20,118.24 restitution,” continued U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “LINDA DENISE BLAKE, a/k/a DEE PLANK, age 43, of Muldrow, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment, 36 months supervised release, and ordered to pay a Special Assessment of $100.00, on February 18, 2008.”
“The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over today’s sentencing.”
“Assistant United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson represented the government.”
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FOR RELEASE: April 01, 2008
SUBJECT: SOLORZANO-EQUIHUA, Jacinto
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that JACINTO SOLORZANO-EQUIHUA, age 33, of Mexico, was sentenced for committing the federal crime of Reentry of Deported Alien, in violation of Title 8, U.S.C., Section 1326.
“SOLORZANO-EQUIHUA was sentenced to and received credit for time served, over nine months, and 12 months supervised release,” stated U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “The defendant has been in custody since his arrest in the late spring of last year.”
“SOLORZANO-EQUIHUA had previously waived indictment and pled guilty. Charges arose from an investigation by the Poteau Police Department and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” stated U.S. Attorney Sperling. “On June 14, 2007, SOLORZANO-EQUIHUA was arrested in Poteau, Oklahoma, during a routine traffic stop. The traffic officers determined that SOLORZANO-EQUIHUA was unlawfully in the United States. Although SOLORZANO-EQUIHUA was not a felon, he had previously been deported on June 17, 2004 and again on July 14, 2004.”
“The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over today’s sentencing. Judge White ordered the defendant remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal to serve his sentence and to be deported. Assistant United States Attorney Paul G. Hess represented the government.”
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FOR RELEASE: April 02, 2008
SUBJECT: JORDAN, Garland
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that GARLAND JORDAN, age 30, of Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, was sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute and Distribution of Cocaine Base a/k/a “Crack” Cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C).
“JORDAN was sentenced to seventy (70) months imprisonment, thirty-six (36) months Supervised Release and $100 Special Monetary Assessment,” stated U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “JORDAN pled guilty on November 7, 2007.”
“Charges arose from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. On April 24, 2006, JORDAN had in his possession and intended to distribute crack cocaine. On November 6, 2007, a one count felony information was filed charging JORDAN with possession and distributing cocaine base. The charges arose out of a series of crack cocaine purchases made from JORDAN,” recalled U.S. Attorney Sperling.
“This prosecution is just one of over 90 arrest warrants issued in Operation Sixkiller,” recalled U.S. Attorney Sperling. “The task force effort joined 22 local, county, state and federal prosecution and investigative agencies. District 25 Attorney Tom Giulioli and District 15 Attorney Larry Moore are leading the state prosecutions. Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace is the primary federal prosecutor for this operation in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.”
“The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over today’s sentencing. Judge White ordered the defendant remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service to begin serving his sentence.”
“Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace represented the government.”
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FOR RELEASE: April 02, 2008
SUBJECT: RHEA, Laurence Robert
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that LAURENCE ROBERT RHEA, age 36, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, was sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute and Distribution of Cocaine Base a/k/a “Crack” Cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(iii).
“RHEA was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment, 60 months supervised release and $100 Special Monetary Assessment,” stated U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “RHEA pled guilty on November 7, 2007.”
“Charges arose from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. On July 7, 2006, RHEA had in his possession and intended to distribute in excess of fifty grams of crack cocaine. On November 6, 2007, a one count felony information was filed charging RHEA with possessing and distributing cocaine base. The charges arose out of a series of crack cocaine purchases made from RHEA,” noted U.S. Attorney Sperling.
“This prosecution is just one of over 90 arrest warrants issued in Operation Sixkiller,” recalled U.S. Attorney Sperling. “The task force effort joined 22 local, county, state and federal prosecution and investigative agencies. District 25 Attorney Tom Giulioli and District 15 Attorney Larry Moore are leading the state prosecutions. Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace is the primary federal prosecutor for this operation in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.”
“The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over today’s sentencing. Judge White ordered the defendant remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service to begin serving his sentence.
“Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace represented the government.”
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FOR RELEASE: April 02, 2008
SUBJECT: SINGLETON, Chance Wayne
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that CHANCE WAYNE SINGLETON, age 28, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Fraud in Connection with Access Devices, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 371.
“SINGLETON was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment, 36 months supervised release, and ordered to pay a Special Assessment of $100.00,” stated U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “SINGLETON was also ordered to pay $5,375.86 restitution.”
“Charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service and the Ardmore Police Department,” U.S. Attorney Sperling continued. “On September 26, 2007, the Ardmore Police Department received a call reporting an individual attempting to use an invalid credit card at Wal-Mart. An investigation began and a conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with access devices was discovered based out of the Dallas area.”
“Beginning around September 20, and continuing through September 27, 2007, SINGLETON, co-defendant Tabbatha Jane Bretz, and co-defendant Leslie Theodore Rich, together, and with others, conspired to commit fraud and related activity in connection with access devices,” U.S. Attorney Sperling continued. “Valid credit card numbers were obtained from a source in Dallas. The defendants used the counterfeit access devices, device-making equipment and scanning receiver to manufacture counterfeit credit cards. The defendants then made purchases with the counterfeit credit cards. ”
“Co-defendants,TABBATHA JANE BRETZ, age 25, of Eagletown, Oklahoma, and LESLIE THEODORE RICH, age 32, of Dallas, Texas, have also pled guilty to the charges and are awaiting the completion of their presentence reports to be sentenced.
“The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over today’s sentencing. Judge White ordered the defendant remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal to begin serving his sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan M. Roberts represented the government.”
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FOR RELEASE: April 10, 2008
SUBJECT: WORLEY, Cyndy K.
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that CYNDY K. WORLEY, age 52, of Gore, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Social Security Fraud in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 408(a)(5).
“Charges arose from an investigation by the Social Security Administration (SSA), Office of Inspector General,” stated U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “From October 2003 to August 2007, WORLEY continued to receive payments as representative payee for the use and benefit of her mother. She received SSA payments. She then converted the payments to her own use rather than for the use and benefit of her mother. WORLEY also intentionally concealed the death of her mother in order to continue to receive and spend SSA payments. The defendant fraudulently obtained approximately $44,717.00 in SSA payments.”
“On September 16, 2003, WORLEY’s mother passed away,” U.S. Attorney Sperling continued. “At the time of her death, WORLEY’s mother was receiving Social Security widow's benefits on the Social Security account of her deceased husband. After her death, the Social Security Administration continued to mail her monthly Social Security checks to her address. The SSA was unaware of her death until September 2007, when they ceased paying benefits. WORLEY had endorsed all checks payable to her deceased mother after her death.”
“The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the defendant’s guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion. The defendant remains free on bond pending sentencing.”
“The statutory range of punishment is up to five years imprisonment and/or $250,000 fine,” stated U.S. Attorney Sperling. “A preliminary guideline calculation projects a ten to16 month prison sentence.”
“Assistant United States Attorney Paul G. Hess represented the government.”
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FOR RELEASE: April 11, 2008
SUBJECT: COVINGTON, James Lee
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that JAMES LEE COVINGTON, age 34, of Hugo, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Possession of an Unregistered Firearm, in violation of Title 26, U.S.C. Sections 5845, 5861(d) and 5871.
“Charges arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,” stated U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “COVINGTON was indicted in November of 2007. On or about the 20th day of January, 2007, the defendant was found to be in possession of a 12 gauge shotgun with a barrel of less than 18 inches in length and an overall length of less than 26 inches. The firearm was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required.”
“On January 20, 2007, Choctaw County Deputies were attempting to locate COVINGTON to interview him regarding a burglary investigation,” reported U.S. Attorney Sperling. “While the deputies were standing outside a residence, they saw him drive past. COVINGTON fired shots at the deputies. The deputies pursued and more gunshots were fired. Ultimately COVINGTON ran through a roadblock and wrecked the pickup he was driving. The defendant was shot multiple times in the incident. No officers were injured.”
“Because the officers were not federal officers, the defendant is facing state charges based on the foregoing facts,” noted U.S. Attorney Sperling.
“The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the defendant’s guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion. The defendant remains in the custody of the United States Marshal Service.”
“The statutory range of punishment is up to ten years imprisonment and/or up to $10,000.00 in fines,” stated U.S. Attorney Sperling.
“Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wilson represented the government.”
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FOR RELEASE: April 14, 2008
SUBJECT: ROBERTS, Katherine Meladie
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that an Order has been signed in the matter of KATHERINE MELADIE ROBERTSON, age 35, formerly of Hulbert, Oklahoma. The Order denied the relief ROBERTSON had requested.
“On February 25, 2008, the defendant filed a Motion to Change Method by Which Balance of Sentence is Served,” stated U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, entered an Order denying ROBERTSON’s motion.”
“The defendant requested that she be allowed to serve the remainder of her sentence on home confinement or in a halfway house-like facility in order to care for her two children,” U.S. Attorney Sperling reported. “ROBERTSON has served 41 months of her 120 month sentence. A federal jury had found her guilty of conspiracy to use an interstate commerce facility in the commission of a murder-for-hire. In January 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence.”
“The defendant argued that the Bureau of Prisons did not initiate the Family Unity Demonstration Project. She sought sentence modification to care for her two children, now 18 and 10 years of age. Judge White correctly found that the defendant’s situation did not fit the guidelines of the Act. The law applies to children under the age of seven years of age. The defendant was also properly found ineligible for relief because the length of the defendant’s imprisonment was also outside of the applicable guidelines. The maximum sentence to which the Act applies, is seven years. The defendant was sentenced to ten years.”
“The Order signed by Judge White further states that ‘A district court does not have inherent authority to modify a previously imposed sentence; it may do so only pursuant to statutory authority.’ The defendant’s situation did not meet any of the jurisdictional grants allowed by statute 18 U.S. C. Section 3582 (c ): a motion by the Director of Bureau of Prisons; a modification expressly permitted by statute and Rule 35; or lowering of the sentencing range by the Sentencing Commission.”
“On appeal, ROBERTSON had argued that the district court improperly instructed the jury as to an element of the offense, and abused its discretion in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing to determine whether a conversation between a state-court deputy clerk and a juror was improper. The appellate court rejected both of these contentions.”
“In addition, the appellate court found the evidence overwhelming as presented to the jury at trial concerning the agreement between ROBERTSON and Mr. Means and the underlying intent that a murder be committed. The panel found that if one enters into an agreement calling for the death of another in exchange for something of pecuniary value, then malice aforethought necessarily exists.”
“The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals found the following facts. ROBERTSON was convicted with Hugh Alan Means, her former employer, with whom she had an extramarital affair, to use an interstate commerce facility (a telephone) in the commission of a murder-for-hire. The object of the conspiracy was to hire a hit man to murder her husband.”
“Means pled guilty and was sentenced to 60 months in prison to be followed by 24 months of supervised release. The sentences of both defendants in this case are not subject to parole.”
“The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI monitored phone calls and meetings between an undercover agent and Hugh Alan Means. The conspirators sought to hire a professional who could make someone go away and make it look like an accident.”
“Assistant United States Attorney Robert Gay Guthrie admirably represented the United States at trial, on appeal, and in this post-conviction action,” noted U.S. Attorney Sperling. “ROBERTSON is in federal prison. Her projected release date is May 4, 2013. Means is also in federal prison. His projected release date is August 1, 2008.”
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FOR RELEASE: April 17, 2008
SUBJECT: FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS: BENTLEY, Dustin Kyle; DARNELL, Jennifer Joan; HOGAN, Robert Charles; and HULL, James
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - United States Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling announced today the results of the April 2008 Federal Grand Jury.
“The following named individuals have been charged with a federal crime or crimes by the return of an indictment by the Grand Jury. A grand jury Indictment does not constitute evidence of guilt. A grand jury Indictment is a method of bringing formal charges against the defendant. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and may not be found guilty unless evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Statutory maximum punishments are in parentheses. United States Sentencing Guidelines may be considered, upon conviction, by the sentencing court. Federal prison sentences are non-parolable”.
DUSTIN KYLE BENTLEY, age 24, of Bryan County, Oklahoma.
Failure to Register Pursuant to Sex Offender Registration and Notificaton Act.
The defendant was convicted in February 2007 of Fourth Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct in the District Court of Watonwan County, in the State of Minnesota. BENTLEY is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. In January 2008 BENTLEY began residing in Bryan County, Oklahoma. The defendant allegedly did not notify the State of Minnesota of the move to the State of Oklahoma, nor did he register in the State of Oklahoma as required by the Act. The charges are in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 2250.
(Not more than 10 years imprisonment and/or up to $250,000.00 fine.)
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson
ROBERT CHARLES HOGAN, age 62, of McCloud, Oklahoma.
Use of Interstate Facility to Persuade, Induce, Entice, or Coerce a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity and Attempted Production of Child Pornography.
HOGAN allegedly used a cellular telephone, a facility of interstate commerce, to induce a minor child to engage in the production of child pornography and lewd acts to a child under 16 years old. Count two of the indictment alleges HOGAN attempted to use a minor child under the age of 18 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the conduct. The offenses took place in Sequoyah County on or about March 20, 2008. The charges are in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 2422, 2427, and Title 18, U.S.C. Section 2251(a), 2251(e). Charges arose from an investigation by the Vian Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(Count 1 – not less than 10 years imprisonment, and/or $250,000.00 in fines. Count 2 – from 15 – 30 years imprisonment and/or up to $250,000.00 fine.)
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson
JENNIFER JOAN DARNELL, age 50, of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Fraud in Connection with Identification Documents.
The indictment alleges that on or about July 1, 2006, in Muskogee County, DARNELL possessed and used an Oklahoma Driver’s License number belonging to someone other than herself. The photograph on the driver’s license was of DARNELL. The defendant allegedly used the driver’s license as a means of identification when making the purchase of a vehicle from Muskogee Auto Outlet. DARNELL allegedly presented a counterfeited security, a check, in the amount of $10,000.00 and the false driver’s license when purchasing the vehicle valued in excess of $15,000.00. The charges are in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Sections 1028(a)(7) and 1028(b)(1)(D). Charges arose from an investigation by the United States Secret Service.
(Up to 15 years imprisonment and/or up to $250,000.00 fine.)
Assistant United States Attorney Paul G. Hess
JAMES HULL, age 66, of Edmond, Oklahoma.
3 Counts of Use of False Writing Document and One Count of False Claim of Receipt of Military Decoration or Medal.
Charges arose from an investigation by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs/OIG Division. The offenses occurred in Muskogee County. HULL allegedly signed and submitted false and fraudulent forms in March 2005 and March 2006 to the VA in support of claims for service-connected disabilities incurred as a result of alleged combat in Vietnam. The defendant also allegedly submitted fraudulent citations for a Silver Star and Meritorious Service Medal he claimed he had received as a result of his military service in the Republic of Vietnam between approximately 1964 and 1965. Investigation by VA/OIG revealed that HULL was assigned to military units in the Republic of Turkey, Fort Wolters, Texas, and San Francisco, California during the times he claimed to be in the Republic of Vietnam. The charges are in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 1001 and Title 18, U.S.C. Section 704(b).
(Counts 1 – 3 – Up to 5 years imprisonment and or/up to $250,000.00 fine. Count 4 – Up to 1 year imprisonment and/or up to $100,000.00 fine.)
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson
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FOR RELEASE: April 17, 2008
SUBJECT: STIPE, Francis D.
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that FRANCIS D. STIPE, age 77, of McAlester, Oklahoma, has pled guilty to all four counts of the indictment with which he was charged.
“The district court accepted the defendant’s pleas of guilty and found the defendant guilty,” U.S. Attorney Sperling disclosed. “The defendant stands convicted of four felonies: conspiracy, honest public services mail fraud, attempting to intimidate a federal witness, and engaging in an illegal monetary transaction.”
“After 4 days of trial last week,” U.S. Attorney Sperling reported, “the jury heard closing arguments on Monday. We are grateful to jurors for their attention and their deliberations which began on Monday afternoon and continued Tuesday and Wednesday without reaching a verdict.”
“Our court rules and judges zealously guard juror privacy,” continued U.S. Attorney Sperling. “We share that commitment. A downside, however, is the absence of knowledge as to how they stand or what they think about the case generally and the evidence specifically. We must use our best judgment to discern where things stand. We believe the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. That belief generated this resolution.”
“We have been honored by the integrity of investigators and prosecutors in this case. They didn’t exaggerate the evidence. Conventional cynicism suggests that corners may be cut, that admissions may be inflated. No one quoted the defendant as saying ‘I’m going to buy the Mass loan and dangle it over his head.’”
“The pleas and guilty verdicts entered by the court, involved complex issues of federal conspiracy law,” U.S. Attorney Sperling continued. “In this case, the defendant provided a comprehensive factual basis for the findings of guilt as to Counts I and III. As to Counts II and IV, federal prosecutors properly relied on well-established Supreme Court authority dating back to l946. In Pinkerton v. U.S., 328 U.S. 640, 647 (1946), our Highest Court ruled that a conspirator ‘can be held responsible for the substantive crimes committed by his co-conspirators to the extent those offenses were reasonably foreseeable consequences of acts furthering the unlawful agreement, even if he did not himself participate in the substantive crimes.’ In this case, the court had instructed the jury that a conspirator is responsible for the foreseeable acts of other conspirators – even if he did not participate in all the acts and may not even have known all the other conspirators. Consistent therewith, facts underlying this defendant’s guilt of Couts II and IV were presented to, and accepted as sufficient by, this Honorable Court.”
“Today, we reflect. The former chairman of the Oklahoma House Committee on Appropriations has been convicted of corruption and is awaiting sentencing. The former longtime business partner of a political icon has been brought to justice and is awaiting sentencing. Several temptations to public corruption have been taken off the table. The manner in which the abstracting business is supervised, has been dramatically changed. The means by which scarce and valuable public money is invested in Oklahoma’s economic future is subject to improved oversight. Retirement systems are subject to enhanced scrutiny. Public official ethics have been the focus of intense examination. This defendant has been convicted, as charged. The sunlight of prosecution is a powerful disinfectant. And tomorrow, we continue our work.”
“On October 5, 2007, FRANCIS STIPE, and his brother, EUGENE E. STIPE, were indicted for Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Mail Fraud, Tamper with a Witness, and Engage in an Illegal Monetary Transactions,” U.S. Attorney Sperling stated. “Counts 2-4 further alleged that the defendant aided and abetted the commission of specific substantive or underlying felonies: deprivation the public of honest services as effected by the use of the U.S. Mail, an attempt to tamper with a federal witness, and engaging in an illegal financial transaction.”
“Experienced prosecutors and agents worked diligently to gather, organize and present admissible evidence to this jury,” U.S. Attorney Sperling noted.” “Charges arose from an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigation Division also played an integral role in this inquiry. Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Gay Guthrie and Ryan M. Roberts admirably represented the United States of America at trial.”
“The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the trial. After entering findings of the defendant’s guilt as to all counts of the indictment, Judge White ordered the completion of a presentence report. Pursuant to federal law, FRANCIS STIPE was released pending sentencing under conditions to be supervised by the United States Probation Office.”
“Count I of the Indictment charges that the defendants, EUGENE STIPE and FRANCIS STIPE, knowingly conspired with each other and with others, to commit Counts II and III of the Indictment - Mail Fraud and Tampering with a witness. Specifically, the Indictment states that the conspirators steered funds appropriated by the Legislature of the State of Oklahoma to an entity known as the McAlester Foundation (MF). MF used these funds to purchase real estate owned by EUGENE STIPE for a business known as National Pet Products (NPP).”
“The Indictment further states that the object of the conspiracy was to recoup $50,000.00 provided to a failed congressional campaign. The money was in the form of a loan by FRANCIS STIPE to an industrial credit corporation, which then provided the funds to Walt Roberts for use in his 1998 congressional campaign. The money was to be recovered from funds appropriated by the Legislature of the State of Oklahoma and used by MF to buy the real property from EUGENE STIPE.”
“The Indictment further charges that the defendants conspired to intimidate Michael D. Mass, in order to corruptly affect Mass’s testimony before a Federal Grand Jury and at subsequent trial, by purchasing the mortgage of his residence from a financial institution. The defendant admitted that on February 14, 2007, he bought the mortgage on Mass’ residence from a financial institution, which mortgage had previously been guaranteed by EUGENE STIPE. Mass is a former legislator who was in a position to allocate funds to state agencies including the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and to Councils of Government, including the Kiamichi Economic Development District of Oklahoma. Mass was also in a position to steer the funds from the state agencies and Councils of Government to the McAlester Foundation. Mass is a former chairman of the Oklahoma House Appropriations Committee.”
“Count II of the Indictment states that the defendants knowingly and intentionally devised a scheme and artifice to defraud another of the intangible right of honest services, by steering funds appropriated by the Legislature of the State of Oklahoma to the McAlester Foundation (MF) stated U.S. Attorney Sperling. EUGENE STIPE, and others, had a covert financial interest in NPP, which constituted a false and fraudulent pretense employed in the scheme. The funds steered to MF by Legislator Mass deprived others of Mass’s honest services. This payment of the funds was kept secret from the public and was, therefore, a false and fraudulent pretense employed in the scheme. The indictment further stated that EUGENE STIPE and FRANCIS STIPE both recouped their $50,000.00. The undisclosed repayment of the loan with funds appropriated by the Legislature of the State of Oklahoma through the sale of the property to the MF was another false and fraudulent pretence employed in the scheme. Three checks were sent through and delivered by the United States Postal Service for an amount totaling approximately $1,900,000.00. The checks were from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture in Oklahoma City addressed to the Kiamichi Economic Development District of Oklahoma in Wilburton.”
“Count III of the Indictment charges that EUGENE STIPE and FRANCIS STIPE attempted to intimidate Michael D. Mass, and did so by purchasing Mass’s residential mortgage from a financial institution for the purposes of influencing, delaying or preventing his testimony before a Federal Grand Jury investigation and subsequent trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.”
“Count IV of the Indictment charges that the defendants engaged in a monetary transaction through and to a financial institution, affecting interstate commerce, in criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000.00. Specifically, a check was made payable to Michael D. Mass in the amount of $48,000.00 as a kickback for steering funds from the Legislature of the State of Oklahoma, and then negotiated.”
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FOR RELEASE: April 23, 2008
SUBJECT: YATES, Jarrod Anthony
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that JARROD ANTHONY YATES, age 24, of Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, was arraigned on charges of Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 242. YATES was, at the time of the alleged crime, a jail officer at the Sequoyah County Jail.
“Charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. YATES was indicted under seal by a Federal Grand Jury on April 17 2008,” stated U.S. Attorney Sperling.
“The indictment alleges that YATES assaulted an inmate, resulting in bodily injury, thereby willfully depriving him of rights secured and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America.”
“The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the defendant’s plea of not guilty. YATES was released on bond, pending a trial date of June 2.”
“The statutory range of punishment is up to ten years imprisonment and/or up to $250,000.00 in fines,” stated U.S. Attorney Sperling.
“The government is represented by AUSA Paul G. Hess and the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.”
A grand jury Indictment does not constitute evidence of guilt. A grand jury Indictment is a method of bringing formal charges against the defendant. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and may not be found guilty unless evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Federal prison sentences are non-parolable.
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FOR RELEASE: April 29, 2008
SUBJECT: DARNELL, Jennifer Joan
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that JENNIFER JOAN DARNELL, age 50, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Fraud in Connection with Identification Documents, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Sections 1028(a)(7) and 1028(b)(1)(D).
“Charges arose from an investigation by the United States Secret Service,” reported U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “On or about July 1, 2006, in Muskogee County, DARNELL possessed and used an Oklahoma Driver’s License number that didn’t belong to her. Her photograph appeared on the driver’s license.
“The defendant used the fraudulent driver’s license as a means of identification when she bought a vehicle from Muskogee Auto Outlet. DARNELL presented a counterfeited check, in the amount of $10,000.00 and the false driver’s license, when purchasing the vehicle valued in excess of $15,000.00.”
“The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the defendant’s guilty plea and ordered completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion. The defendant remains in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending imposition of sentence.”
“The statutory range of punishment is up to 15 years imprisonment and/or up to $250,000.00 in fines,” stated U.S. Attorney Sperling. “A preliminary calculation of the Sentencing Guidelines, however, projects an advisory sentencing range of 9 to 15 months imprisonment.”
“Assistant United States Attorney Paul G. Hess represented the government.”
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FOR RELEASE: April 29, 2008
SUBJECT: FIELDS, Edward Leon, Jr.
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - “United States Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling announced that the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the petition for rehearing en banc requested by Edward Leon Fields, Jr. “The due process march continues,” U.S. Attorney Sperling said. “Fields had filed the petition requesting a rehearing before the panel of judges on April 8, 2008.”
“Such rehearings involve consideration of the appeal by the entire panel of twelve regular appellate judges,” U.S. Attorney Sperling reported. “Rehearings must involve issues of extraordinary importance or appellate decisions which conflict with previously rendered opinions.”
“In this case, appellant challenged the scope of victim impact testimony presented by the prosecution. Specifically, Fields complained that close friends of the victims were allowed to testify about the loss they experienced due to the murder of their friends.”
“This issue had been addressed in the main appeal,” U.S. Attorney Sperling explained. “We called only three victim impact witnesses – a sister, a childhood friend, and a close family friend. The murdered couple had no children.”
“The victim impact testimony we presented was lawful, limited, and persuasive. The three-judge agreed that we, and the trial court, had followed the law. Under Fields’ interpretation, a victim’s spouse’s third cousin twice removed, who had only a passing acquaintance with the victim, could testify to victim impact, but the victim’s best friend for four decades could not. That would be absurd.”
“On July 10, 2003, the defendant murdered two unsuspecting campers in the Winding Stair Campground in LeFlore County, Oklahoma,” recalled U.S. Attorney Sperling. “On July 22, 2005, a federal jury returned a capital verdict. A mandatory appeal followed. The case was orally argued on October 1, 2007. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the capital sentence on February 25, 2008.”
“Fields argued in his petition that the Court improperly allowed the jury to consider victim impact testimony from other than the victim’s family. Testimony was presented by close friends of the victims as well as a family member. On appeal, Fields asked the Court to ‘reconsider its interpretation of the Federal Death Penalty Act (FDPA) … .’ as it relates to the impact of victim witness testimony.”
“The defendant argued that in its February 25, 2008 affirmation of the sentences and finding of any error harmless, the Court was incorrect. The Court disagreed and denied Fields’ petition for a rehearing on the matter.”
“In its February 25th decision, the Court rejected challenges to federal jurisdiction to try this case, to jury qualification, to the verdict form, to aggravating factors, and to victim impact. The court also denied a complaint that jurors should have found defendant’s asserted severe-disturbance mitigator. The appellate panel upheld the capital standard for weighing aggravating and mitigating factors. The Denver-based court also approved the district court decision to allow the ghillie-suit in the jury room and rejected a cumulative error claim.”
“On November 8, 2005, Edward Leon Fields, Jr., now age 40, formerly of LeFlore County, Oklahoma, was issued capital sentences for the double murder of a married couple from Texas who were camping in a federal campground. On July 22, 2005, a federal jury sitting in Muskogee for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, had returned a unanimous death penalty verdict against Fields.”
“For over two years, we anticipated that this day of sentencing reckoning would come,” U.S. Attorney Sperling had commented. “Words then failed to adequately depict the horror the defendant visited in graphic, premeditated, coldly calculating, malicious, wantonly violent, and ghillie-suited form to two wonderful people who were minding their own business and had done nothing to him.”
“DOJ Capital Unit Specialist Libby Lange is a brilliant appellate advocate and prosecutor. I am grateful for her work, the investigative persistence of Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U. S. Forest Service Special Agents, and the tireless efforts of Victim Witness Specialist, Mary Jo Speaker.”
“There have now, however, been enough words,” U. S. Attorney Sperling said. “U.S. District Court Judge Ronald A. White spoke clearly in imposing the following sentences. On Counts 1 and 3, Murder in First Degree, death, with execution to be administered by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. On Counts 2 and 4, Use of Firearm, 405 months in prison to be served consecutively. On Count 5, Robbery with Firearm, 405 months in prison, to be served consecutively. And on Count 6, Burglary of an Automobile, 84 months in prison.
“A courageous and discerning jury had returned the capital verdict after three weeks of jury selection and trial and four hours of deliberation,” U.S. Attorney Sperling noted. “The death sentences were the result of a sentencing jury trial following defendant’s federal convictions for the murders of Charles and Shirley Chick, of Dallas.”
“We contended in closing that the defendant deserved the death penalty. The jury found that the defendant possessed the requisite homicidal intent, engaged in the substantial planning and premeditation to cause death, and committed multiple intentional killings in a single episode.”
“The jury found that the defendant: posed a future danger to the lives and safety of other persons; caused permanent loss to the victims’ family, friends, and community; and inflicted mental anguish on Mrs. Chick before her death.”
“Jurors also found 18 mitigating factors relating to the defendant’s life, family, and circumstances. Notably, however, the jury rejected four mitigators. The jury refused to find that defendant’s capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct and conform his conduct to the law was significantly impaired. The jury did not find that defendant committed the offenses under severe mental or emotional disturbance. The jury rejected the contention that defendant expressed remorse for his crimes. And the jury clearly declined the assertion that he will not pose a future danger to society by being imprisoned for life without possibility of release. The CTA 10 opinion cited our closing argument. ‘Which one of us would want to be in a cell next to someone who is capable of coldly attacking two innocent people who had done nothing to him?’”
“The defendant had been convicted on July 2, 2005, of two counts of first degree murder, two counts of firearm use resulting in death, assimilative crime robbery with firearms, and assimilative crime burglary of an automobile. Federal law applies Oklahoma state law concerning crimes committed on federal property.”
“On July 10, 2003, Charles and Shirley Chick were the lone campers in the forested Winding Stairs federal campground in the Ouachita National Forest,” U.S. Attorney Sperling continued. “While Charles and Shirley enjoyed their last sunset, defendant donned his homemade sasquatch-like ghillie (sniper) suit, carried his camouflaged and large-scoped rifle, slipped into the nearby woods, and waited for dark to fall.”
“The victims, ages 47 and 50, returned to their campsite and sat at a picnic table. After dark fell, defendant shot Charles under his left eye. When Shirley ran from the table, defendant advanced and fired twice at her and hit her left foot. She struggled to a nearby van and opened the passenger side door as the defendant approached her, shot her in the head, observed that she was not yet dead, and shot her again.”
“The defendant went to the picnic table where Charles was still alive and shot him again. Defendant left the murder scene, returned later to rob the bodies and burglarize the van, went to work at his plastics manufacturing job the next morning, and resumed his regular activities.”
“The defendant was arrested a week later when a civilian tip enabled a focused inquiry concerning the defendant. Defendant had no prior criminal history. Although he may have met the victims several days before, defendant and victims were otherwise strangers to each other.”
“The defends advanced a complex mental mitigation defense and presented expert testimony which asserted hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) at birth, frontal lobe damage and judgmental impairment, bipolar disorder, a psychotic feature (command hallucinations), and hypermanic flip due to the impact of anti-depressant medication and dosage increases.”
“Although months prior to the murders defendant had both been medically treated for depression and asserted that he had heard voices, the prosecution successfully rebutted the asserted mental mitigation.”
In closing argument, United States Attorney Sperling had argued, “We would all like to figure the defendant out. But his actions were the product of conscious choices. He stalked, surveilled, shocked, savaged, and slaughtered two absolutely innocent people who had done nothing to him.”
“The defendant lived out his beliefs. He acted out his developed fantasy. He voluntarily chose to enter the darkened world of depraved criminality. He lacks the essential feature of civilized members of society, a conscience.”
“The defendant wants to be sent to his room as punishment. All with a civilized core must recoil with revulsion at what defendant did as the executioner of the innocent. Don’t give this defendant what he wants. In the name of justice, give him what he deserves.”
“The prosecution consulted and called as an expert witness, Dr. Jeff Mitchell, premier neuro-psychiatrist and Medical Director of the Laureate Psychiatric Hospital in Tulsa,” U. S. Attorney Sperling said. “Dr. Mitchell convincingly rebutted the notion that defendant had experienced a manic switch at the times before, during, and after the crimes.”
“Dr. J. Randall Price, a pre-eminent and highly experienced neuro-psychologist from Dallas with some 200 murder case evaluations under his belt, convincingly rejected the defense mental mitigation. Dr. Price persuasively opined that the defendant had characteristics of a sociopath or psychopath.”
“The jury rejected mitigating factors that the defendant’s capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or conform his conduct to the requirements of law was significantly impaired, regardless of whether his capacity was so impaired as to constitute a defense to the charge; that defendant committed the offenses under severe mental or emotional disturbance; and that defendant will not present a future danger to society by being imprisoned for life without possibility of release.”
United States Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling was lead counsel for the United States. Dennis A. Fries and Linda A. Epperley, Assistant Untied States Attorneys in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, served as associate trial attorneys.
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the United States Forest Service, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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