The brothers accused in the quadruple murders have violent criminal histories and one was involved in a prison riot and released early from prison.
Cedric Poore, 39, was on parole and James Poore, 32, was on probation when the women were lined up and killed in the same apartment complex where the suspects lived at Fairmont Terrace near 61st and Peoria.
On January 7th, twin sisters Rebeika Powell and Kayetie Melchor, friend Misty Nunley and neighbor Julie Jackson were tied up and shot and killed in the head.
The prison mug shots of the accused murder suspects bother the mother of the twins murdered at Fairmont Terrace.
"He is just so evil looking,” said Charon Powell.
Prison records show Cedric Poore went to prison when he was 22 for a violent robbery in 1995 and was sentenced to 35 years.
In 2005, records show he was accused of beating inmates in a prison riot with a baseball bat and one inmate died. Those charges were dropped. Records show the Payne County District Attorney at the time dismissed the charges because the material witness could not be found.
“Look at how violent he was,” said Powell.
Six years after the riot Cedric Poore was released early from prison.
"It looks like after that he really turned things around. Went to a VO-TECH class, got his education, completed drug counseling and didn't do anything else wrong for several years,” said OK Pardon and Parole Board Director Terry Jenks.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections reports after the riot, Poore was moved from the Cushing prison to Oklahoma State Prison, put in a disciplinary unit for 30 days. Lost 365 days of earned credit, restricted level 1, and couldn’t earn credit for 90 days.
The Board and the Governor approve early release. Jenks says had the Board not approved Poore’s early release he would have served his time and been released from prison in 2013 without any supervision based on credit for time served.
"It's like the carrot and the stick thing, you get some provisional freedom but you have a parole officer keeping an eye on you, knowing where you are and where you work, things like that,” said Jenks.
Poore was then moved to three other lower level prisons and released in March 2011. He was scheduled to be released from parole in 2017.
Even while on parole, records show Poore had run-ins with police. He was arrested for obstructing police in April, 2012.
"Why was he walking around?” said Powell.
A supervisor with OK Probation and Parole says with a non-violent misdemeanor DOC usually waits until a conviction to revoke parole.
"We didn't have any reason to believe that he was going to commit this horrendous act," said Tulsa District Supervisor for DOC Probation and Parole Kathy King.
With the exception of the arrests, King says Poore checked in monthly and was in compliance.
When Poore pleaded guilty to obstruction in October, DOC issued a warrant on December 28th, 2012.
King reports on January 14th, 2013, Poore checked in with his parole officer and was arrested.
The women were murdered on January 7th.
Prison records James Poore was convicted of robbery in 2001 and sentenced to serve half of his twelve year sentence in prison. He was released in December 2011 and on probation. King says he complied and moved to Chicago in February 2012 and returned in September, 2012.
DOC reports James Poore had ten misconducts while in prison:
- 2002-battery
- 2003-smoking in a day room, battery on an inmate, interfering with count, absent from class
- 2006-failure to obey verbal order
- 2009-using abusive language, possession of a cellphone confiscated a green-leafy substance from his cell, selling or trading prescription medication.
“I think our system fails,” said Powell.
The brothers are being held without bond. They have not been formally charged in the murders.
Arrest reports show the motive was robbery for drugs and money. The report states James Poore told witnesses he shot one of the twins and his brother Cedric Poore shot the three other women.
Jenks says current Parole Board members Richard Dugger and Lynell Harkins were on the board that approved Poore’s early release. They have not returned FOX23’s request for an interview.
