FOX23 News Right Now

Man shot in South Tulsa

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:21:06 -0500

FOX23 is on the scene of a shooting in South Tulsa.

The shooting happened at the Cannon Creek Apartment Complex near 51st and Lewis around 7 o'clock.

It started with a fight on a basketball court.

A man in his 50s was transported to St. Francis. He was shot in the leg and abdomen.

Police are looking for the suspect.

FOX23 has a crew on the scene, and will bring you the latest on FOX23 News at 9.

Execution set for Okla. man in 2 stabbing deaths

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:22:00 -0500

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma corrections officials are preparing to execute the second death row inmate to be put to death this year.

James Lewis DeRosa's execution by lethal injection is set for Tuesday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

DeRosa was convicted in the stabbing deaths of 73-year-old Curtis Plummer and 70-year-old Gloria Plummer almost 13 years ago. Prosecutors say DeRosa and a co-defendant talked their way into the victims' rural Le Flore County home, slashed their throats and left with $73 and the couple's truck.

In March, 42-year-old Steven Ray Thacker was executed for the 1999 death of a woman whose credit cards he used to buy Christmas presents for his family.

Execution dates have been set for two other Oklahoma death row prisoners, including one scheduled for next week.

M.E.T. e-waste trailer stolen

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:05:05 -0500

The Metropolitan Environmental Trust temporarily suspended collection of electronic waste materials.

Officials said the e-waste collection trailer was stolen from the Central Tulsa M.e.t. Recycling Center at 3495 S. Sheridan Road on Tuesday.

Without the trailer they cannot accept materials such as cameras, computer batteries, computer monitors, computer towers, copiers/scanners, fax machines, keyboards/mouse, laptops, microwaves, phones, printers, power cords, small appliances, UPS systems, and VCRs/DVD players.

The M.e.t. said they will work diligently to replace the trailer within the new few weeks.

“Our hope is to spread the word of this theft,” said the M.e.t.’s Executive Director, Michael Patton. “It would be great if our customers could keep an eye out for this trailer.”

The M.e.t. has been collecting e-waste for almost a year. It has been a successful program with hauls to Natural Evolution, Inc. about twice a month. This service is extremely important for the citizens of Tulsa because electronic waste is a becoming an environmental issue.

For more information, or if you see anything please contact the Police, Annie Brady at 918-584-0584, or Michael Patton at 918-830-2233.

More Center of the Universe artists announced

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:42:00 -0500

Organizers announced more headliners for the upcoming Center of the Universe festival.

The Center of the Universe Festival is set for July 19 and 20, and announced today that OK Go will play on the 20th. They join previously announced acts OneRepublic, fronted by Tulsa native Ryan Tedder, and alternative rock band Neon Trees.

The festival will include two outdoor stages, the main stage near north Main and Easton, across from Cain’s Ballroom, and a second stage at Guthrie Green. The stages will host bands on Friday and Saturday evening from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., and then selected emerging artists from around the country and region will play in Brady District bars and clubs for more intimate performances until close.

“Tulsa’s music history is rich and thousands of supportive fans attend live music shows week in and week out, so having a major music festival just makes sense,” said Chris Lieberman, co-organizer of the Center of the Universe Festival. “We’re obviously excited about launching the first year of the festival, but we’re even more excited as we look to the future for what this event will become.”

Lieberman is also the executive director of the Williams Route 66 Marathon, now in its eighth year and growing each year.

Organizers believe the festival’s location and format will be received well by fans. The Brady District’s urban setting is a natural fit for multiple outdoor stages, which includes Guthrie Green, and also provides convenient access for festival patrons to visit music venues, bars, restaurants, hotels and retail shops during the event weekend.

“The Brady District provides a perfect layout to support a music festival of this caliber,” said Phil Kaiser, festival co-organizer and owner of Cosmo Café in Brookside and Laffa Medi-Eastern Restaurant & Bar in the Brady District. “The bars and clubs in the area support the local music scene already and the Guthrie Green stage allows for up-and-coming artists to perform at a major music festival in front of a large audience free of charge.”

In additional to the headliners, nationally known acts slated to play the Main Stage include Mayer Hawthorne, MUTEMATH and Churchill. Additional bands scheduled to play the festival include Bronze Radio Return, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Quiet Company, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Eric Himan and Dante & the Hawks.

Outdoor Stage Schedule
Cox Stage – located at North Main & Easton, across from Cain’s Ballroom
Friday, July 19
6 p.m. - Churchill
7:30 p.m. – Mayer Hawthorne
9 p.m. – OneRepublic

Saturday, July 20
5:30 p.m. – MUTEMATH
7 p.m. – OK Go
9 p.m. – Neon Trees

Guthrie Green Stage – located at 111 E. Brady
Friday, July 19
5 p.m. – Eric Himan Band
6:30 p.m. – Wheeler Brothers
8 p.m. – What Made Milwaukee Famous
9:30 p.m. – The Mowgli’s

Saturday, July 20
5:00 – Bronze Radio Return
6:30 – Quiet Company
8 p.m. – Rebirth Brass Band
9:30 p.m. – YO Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band

For more information about the Center of the Universe Festival, please visit http://centeroftheuniversefestival.com/.

TCC Metro Campus closed Wednesday

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:35:00 -0500

All classes at Tulsa Community College's Metro Campus are cancelled again on Wednesday due to an electrical fire.

The college sent a tweet on Tuesday afternoon that said a contingency plan is being worked out.

A TCC spokesperson said on Tuesday the fire started with switching gear, not a transformer as previously thought. The fire caused significant damage to the main building at the Metro Campus.

A spokesperson for the school says they are not sure when repairs will be made. The school is evaluating the situation, but at this time officials are looking into alternative locations for classes.

The school is encouraging students to check the TCC website for when they could return to class. School leaders do not want students going to the building.

The fire did not damage the Center for Creativity and the event scheduled for Tuesday night is still on as planned.

The Tulsa Fire Dept. and PSO are working together at the site. TCC is following their direction and cooperating fully. It could take several days to determine the impact the fire had on the campus.

A fire official will be monitoring the situation overnight to make sure there aren't any problems.

Fishermen find marijuana near Paul's Valley

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:28:06 -0500

Fishermen near Paul’s Valley made an unusual catch.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics reports the fisherman found 1,365 marijuana plants while on their way to fish. OBN removed the plants.

Agents and the Garvin County Sheriff’s Office are now looking for several men seen running from a campsite in the marijuana patch.

Police pursuit ends with a car in a yard

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:20:46 -0500

A police pursuit in midtown Tulsa led to the arrest of a man police previously questioned in a murder investigation.

Police said Freddie Hayes, a convicted felon, forced them into a high-speed chase through the streets of midtown on Tuesday morning.

Officers said Hayes ran from police and crashed his car into a fence at a nearby home near 41st Street and Troost Avenue.

The Tulsa police violent crimes task force, along with U.S. Marshals Service, was trying to serve a warrant to Hayes when they said he took off in his car. Police said Hayes tried to ram one of the officers head-on.

The chase started near 51st Street and Harvard Avenue around 11 a.m. and ended up at 41st Street and Troost Avenue when Hayes crashed his car into a fence.

Once they pried Hayes out of the car officers found several guns in and around the white Lexus he was driving. Police told FOX23 he was wanted on several warrants.

Neighbors told FOX23 they were shocked to see the crash right before their eyes.

"The car was laying up against the fence by that tree over there, and I heard they had been chasing him and one of the guys over there told me had had got hit head-on over on Harvard," said Glen Mears, a neighbor.

Paramedics took Hayes to St. John Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. He faces charges including eluding officers and resisting arrest.

FOX23 previously reported Freddie Hayes was a person of interest in the quadruple homicide at the Fairmont Terrace Apartments in January and was cleared in that case.

Pipeline under Oologah Lake being inspected

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:49:21 -0500

An oil pipeline that runs through the middle of Oologah Lake is being inspected for repairs.

Oologah Lake happens to be where Tulsa and much of the surrounding area gets the majority of its drinking water, so an oil leak in the pipeline would be disastrous.

The company that owns the pipe, Enbridge, is working on the repairs and told FOX23 there is nothing to worry about.

The pipeline was laid back in 1949, before Oologah Lake was built.

"That was back 50, 60 years ago, so when they're planning for the future I'm sure they really didn't have that in mind: 'how are we going to maintain thispipeline?'" said Corey Dahlin, who works at Enbridge.

It's up to Dahlin to figure out how to do that without destroying the water source. That is no small task on a line that runs 450 miles from Cushing to a refinery in southern Illinois.

"On a typical day we pump about 160 to 200,000 barrels through this line," said Dahlin.

But for the next 10 days,"That line out there is actually isolated with nitrogen and there's no oil flowing whatsoever, so the oil is actually out of this section of the pipe," he said.

During routine yearly testing, last year Dahlin's equipment found an anomaly in a 40-foot section of the pipe under the lake.

Now, he has divers down there trying to figure out what it could be and fix it before it becomes a problem.

"There are no integrity risks or issues currently. So, right now we've been planning this specific job for about, since last fall," he said.

But Enbridge wants to avoid this kind of delicate and complicated procedure again in the future, he told FOX23.

"Plans for future expansion or rerouting are being explored at this moment in time."

Officials did say inspecting and repairing the oil pipeline without causing problems is no small task.

They told FOX23 the hardest part is zero visibility due to the muddy bottom of the lake.

The process began a year ago when testing equipment found an anomaly in the pipe, but they still don't know what the problem is.

“We've gone through all the risks and risk mitigation, and just job safety and planning, and you know, how we're actually gonna tackle this job itself," said Dahlin.

First, they shut the pipe off so zero oil is flowing through.

“We have a working platform, or barge, that's put together and held in place by spud anchors. so that doesn't move during whitecaps or windy weather," he said.

Then, they send divers down to pinpoint where the problem is.

“We'll do a non-destructive testing using ultrasonics underwater," he said.

Then, they have to figure out how to fix the problem.

“A lot of the work that they're doing down there is by feel. And with them being about 25, 30 feet below the surface of the water, it does present some challenges," he said.

These divers have done this before and know these pipes inside and out.

“These guys are experienced, and they know what they're doing down there," Dahlin explained.

They even have a silt curtain surrounding the site to avoid debris from their work spreading to other parts of the lake.

As for the risk to drinking water?

“None… none at this moment in time. Everything’s been planned from the start, and everything's been going very well."

When they started planning this project last September that part of the lake was about 20 feet deep, with recent rains it's now around 30 feet.

Officials plan to have this project wrapped up by the end of July.

Owasso city manager court date delayed

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:42:36 -0500

The initial arraignment of the Owasso's suspended city manager has been postponed until July.

Court records show Rodney Ray faces one count of writing a bogus check over $1,000 to a hearing aid company and one count of falsely reporting a crime.

Ray was placed on administrative leave in May after a city employee filed a complaint.

The Associated Press also reports Ray ordered the deletion of police videos of a field sobriety test in which police told the city's vice mayor he was being arrested for driving under the influence.

FOX23 reported Vice Mayor Chris Kelley was never taken to jail and was driven home by an officer. The memo dated April 25th said the files on Kelley's traffic stop were purged. Kelley was not charged.

He denies being under the influence during the stop.

Chrysler agrees to Jeep recall

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:25:52 -0500

DETROIT (AP) - Chrysler says it has resolved its differences with the government and will recall older Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty SUVs that could be at risk of a fuel tank fire.

Earlier this month the company refused the government's request to recall the Jeeps. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration contended that the gas tanks could rupture if hit from the rear, causing fires. NHTSA said 51 people had died in fiery crashes.

But Chrysler says in a statement Tuesday that dealers will inspect the vehicles and upgrade the rear structure if needed to better handle low-speed crashes.

The company maintains that the vehicles aren't defective.

The government had asked Chrysler to recall 2.7 million Jeep Grand Cherokees from model years 1993 through 2004 and Jeep Libertys from 2002 through 2007

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)