/news/default.aspx Crime Stories en-us Copyright 2012 Newport Television LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:01 -0500 Thu, 24 May 2012 17:25:49 -0500 Crime Stories http://www.fox23.com/Sites/koki/content/images/fox23logo.gif /news/default.aspx 118 202 1 http://www.fox23.com:80/content/crime/story/Man-accused-of-child-stealing-is-in-Tulsa-jail/LApTYMMw9UOE-MCyiH765g.cspx?rss=3017 http://www.fox23.com/s/LApTYMMw9UOE-MCyiH765g.cspx A man accused of taking his two-year old daughter from her mother is in the Tulsa jail.

Justin Lampkins is accused of child stealing for allegedly taking off with his two-year old daughter, Venice, for nearly two weeks. He was arrested last week in Wynnewood.

Lampkins and his girlfriend were reportedly hiding out in an an abandoned home when they were caught. Venice was returned to her mother.

]]> Crime Stories Thu, 24 May 2012 17:16:59 -0500 http://www.fox23.com:80/content/crime/story/Man-suspected-of-breaking-into-Tulsa-police-car/u6K8j0IDtU6wm_FNE2x6cQ.cspx?rss=3017 http://www.fox23.com/s/u6K8j0IDtU6wm_FNE2x6cQ.cspx Tulsa police arrested a man suspected of breaking into a Tulsa police car and stealing weapons and other police equipment.

Police arrested Bryden Hill on Wednesday afternoon in Broken Arrow. Police tracked hill to a Quality Inn and used a K9 officer to help take him into custody when he resisted arrest.

Police say Hill was also arrested in 2010 for several burglaries and was convicted of several burglary charges earlier this year.

]]> Crime Stories Thu, 24 May 2012 11:08:06 -0500 http://www.fox23.com:80/content/crime/story/Body-of-person-of-interest-in-Creek-County-death/EHoPbsDLYE2ap_RVVPZbjg.cspx?rss=3017 http://www.fox23.com/s/EHoPbsDLYE2ap_RVVPZbjg.cspx The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says a body found hanging near Sapulpa is the person of interest in the death of a Tulsa woman.

Officials say the body of Jose Acevedo was found hanging from a tree near West 81st and Frankhoma Road on Sunday. OSBI says the body was found 75 yards from where the body of 26-year old Leticia Melendez Reyes was found on May 8th. Two toddlers were also found alive in the SUV with Reyes' body.  The children are with Reyes' parents.

OSBI used fingerprints to identify Acevedo.  It is believed that he committed suicide.  Investigators named him a person of interest after Reyes' death because the two lived together and she had filed a protective order against him.

Even though Acevedo's body was found so close to where Reyes' body was found, investigators say it took nearly two weeks to find him because he trekked through a densely wooded area to the tree where he was eventually found.

"The property owner said he had been smelling something for several days, and he thought maybe it was just a deer or something," Lt. Charles Redfern, Creek County Sheriff's Office, said.

Instead, the property owner found Acevedo hanging more than 20 feet off the ground. In his pocket were the keys to the SUV in which Reyes was found. But it took fingerprint confirmation for investigators to know the body was definitely that of Acevedo.

"But nothing really led us back to this area," Redfern said. "So, it was a surprise to us."

It was also a surprise to Ron Byrd, who lives close by.

"That's cowardly, if you ask me," Byrd said. "What kind of justice is that?"

Even though it would have cost taxpayers a lot of money to prosecute and possibly incarcerate Acevedo, Byrd says it would have been worth it.

"I’d rather see him go through the process, and I’d rather see them giving him that fatal shot."

Investigators may never get all the answers they're looking for. But they do know a court had ordered Acevedo to stay away from Reyes, and that he had been violent with her before.

Though the entire incident happened so close to Byrd's home, the gun owner said he isn't worried about more crimes like this coming into his neighborhood.

"No, I think it was an isolated incident that happened to happen out here," Byrd said. "But I think it could have happened anywhere."

Investigators are still waiting on autopsy results for Reyes. ]]> Crime Stories Wed, 23 May 2012 18:08:00 -0500 Body of person of interest in Creek County death found http://www.fox23.com:80/content/crime/story/Social-media-fueling-teacher-student-sexual/polAo9FNI0OTtDRHdLnylA.cspx?rss=3017 http://www.fox23.com/s/polAo9FNI0OTtDRHdLnylA.cspx There have been a number of sex scandals involving teachers in Oklahoma this year.

In the last twelve months at least eleven teachers in Oklahoma have been accused of inappropriate relationships with students.

The question continues to be asked: should teachers be friending students on Facebook or following them on Twitter, giving out their cellphone numbers and texting or e-mailing?

In a FOX23 investigation Crime Reporter Abbie Alford talked with a student who admits she had sex with her teacher and says social media is helping to fuel inappropriate relationships.

“There wasn't a thought in my head ‘okay he's your teacher you should stop’. It wasn't until afterwards I was like okay he is my teacher but I am still looking past it,” said the 18-year old student.

When you were a child you talked to your teacher in the hallway or in the classroom. Now you have Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging and that can turn good teachers into bad teachers.

In Green Country, there was a popular teacher who got busted for having sex with his student.

“He was one of those pretty cool teachers,” said the student.

She requested she remain anonymous.

The teacher had a crush on the 18-year-old student.

"He basically saw that I was smart, unique, goal-setted person."

The relationship started with flirting in the classroom, text messaging, which made it easier to hide.

"Everyday, every hour until I went to bed,” said the student.

Her mom said she had her suspicions.

"If you don't delete his number I will go to the school” said the mother.

She trusted her daughter would listen to her. However, within two weeks her daughter and teacher were having sex.

The relationship fueled by secret meetings and conversations online. It lasted a month before a friend told the school.

"The next time I found out the cops were at my door,” said the mother. "I felt betrayed."

The parents of a Sand Springs student felt betrayed too. Police caught up with their 17-year old son at a Tulsa hotel with his 27-year old teacher Erin Queen, on Spring Break.

"It's a violation of sacred trust and it's unacceptable,” said Sand Springs Public Schools Superintendent Lloyd Snow, Ph.D.

He’s been a superintendent for more than three decades and the case of Erin Queen shocked him.

"It's alarming and it's unacceptable and it's just heartbreaking. It's hard for me to believe,” said Snow.

FOX23 requested documents from the Oklahoma State Board of Education involving teacher certification revocations since 2008. 20 teachers had their certifications revoked due to child sex crimes. In 72% of those cases they involved sexual crimes with a student.

These teachers were band directors, coaches, special education teachers. They were teachers in high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools.

Most are men, but a handful are women hooking up with students where the relationship flourishes behind a veil of social media, texting and e-mails.

"Does it hurt, does it get us in a position where you say 'what'? It stuns you but you have to take another deep breath and go to work,’ said Snow.

However, only 40 school districts across the country have a social media policy or are revising them this fall. Of the major school districts who responded to FOX23's request in Green Country, Broken Arrow Public Schools passed a strict social media policy in March.

BAPS covers everything from Facebook, Twitter, texting and blogging.

The teachers policy is three pages and the students’ is two pages, which mainly covers cyberbulling.

The teachers policy extends to their personal page which includes teachers not having private conversations online or text and it must be public.

If they use it in the classroom parents must be informed in writing and teachers and staff are encouraged to keep their privacy settings on the most restrictive level.

Snow admits at Sand Springs the district needs this kind of policy, but said its not as simple as putting it in 140 characters or less.

"We've had the conversation but we haven't tried to write a 20 page manual because so much is what is the proper relationship or what's their right?" said Snow.

Meantime, they're having common sense conversations with their teachers about what clearly oversteps the boundaries between a teacher and student.

"Our system works but we are not exempt, but that just makes folks like me and others more determined we can do everything we can possibly to ensure we avoid things that we might be able to avoid,” said Snow.

Even in this digital age, the bottomline is that if schools don’t preemptively address the issue nothing may change.

“I'll be here when she hurts later. I'll be here. Nobody but me because he wont,” said the mother.

One thing that won't change is the naivety and vulnerability of teenagers.

"He was different, he wasn't just out to have sex or out to have sex with me. It was more like he wanted to be there more as a friend,” said the student.

At Tulsa Public Schools the school board has tabled a social media policy. TPS Spokesperson Chris Payne said school attorneys recommended teachers not friend students on Facebook unless they have parent permission. School board members are reviewing current district policy to see if it covers social media behavior.

The state of Missouri was in the spotlight last year when lawmakers banned teachers from friending students on facebook. Legislators backed away from that because educators said it was a learning tool. However, districts are required to come up with their own social media policies.

Those teachers who had their certification revoked include James Ellis Jr., 60, who pleaded guilty in Cleveland County to Forcible Oral Sodomy and 22 counts of Lewd Acts with a 13-year-old student in 2008.

In 2009, Vicky Lewallen, 48, pleaded guilty in Cleveland County to two counts of Forcible Oral Sodomy involving 16-year-old student.

Ashley Flores, 30, pleaded guilty in Kay County to Forcible Sodomy and four counts of Second Degree Rape involving a 14-year-old student.

James Gilbertson, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of Rape by Instrumentation, Sexual Battery, and two counts of Forcible Sodomy and no contest to Sexual Battery in Logan County involving a 15-year-old student.

In Canadian County, Steven Cardenas, 34, pleaded guilty to three counts of Second Degree Rape involving a 17-year-old student.

In 2010, Special Education teacher Shelly Fry, 37, agreed to a deferred sentence in Osage County where she agreed not to teach or volunteer in a school for three years for having sex with one of her students. Her teaching certificate expires on June 30^th.

In 2011, Stephanie Harris, 31, pleaded no contest in Sequoyah County to one count of First Degree Rape and three counts of Soliciting Sexual Conduct or Communication with a minor by use of technology. Also in 2011, John Coley, 34 pleaded guilty in Bryan County to one count of Lewd Acts with a Child under age 16.

Samuel Bellows, 26, was convicted in May 2011 for lewd molestation involving a 16-year-old student in Atoka County.

In Washington County, Jeffrey Wade, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of Forcible Sodomy, Oral Sodomy, Rape by Instrumentation and Second Degree Rape involving a 16-year-old student.

In 2013, Jeremy J. Smith’s, 27, teacher certification will be revoked after pleading guilty in Stephens County for one count of Second Degree Rape by Instrumentation involving a student.

Bradley Matlock, 46, also pleaded guilty in Cherokee County for having sex with a 16-year-old student. His teacher certification is under review.
]]> Crime Stories Wed, 23 May 2012 17:10:00 -0500 Social media fueling teacher & student sexual relationships http://www.fox23.com:80/content/crime/story/Suspect-identified-after-teen-shot/r0XWX3_nuk6lmStsmpJHPQ.cspx?rss=3017 http://www.fox23.com/s/r0XWX3_nuk6lmStsmpJHPQ.cspx Tulsa police say they've arrested a teen after a shooting Wednesday afternoon at Comanche Park apartments. 

Police arrested Isaiah Landrum.  Police say a teenage boy was shot twice in the leg.  The exact age of the victim is not yet known.  Police say a fight led up to the shooting.

Police also had to use pepper spray to disperse an angry crowd and didn't allow additional residents in the complex as they searched for the suspect.  They arrested him around 5:15pm. 

The victim has been taken to the hospital in serious condition.  No other injuries were reported.  
]]> Crime Stories Wed, 23 May 2012 16:56:36 -0500 http://www.fox23.com:80/content/crime/story/Wagoner-County-deputies-arrest-shooting-suspect/tdWKBXS-G0CP3hfNr9-dAQ.cspx?rss=3017 http://www.fox23.com/s/tdWKBXS-G0CP3hfNr9-dAQ.cspx Wagoner County deputies have arrested a suspect in the shooting of a Broken Arrow man.

Deputies say 44-year old Robert Lee Watson, Jr. is the suspect in a shooting that happened just after midnight on Wednesday. Deputies were called to a home near E. 131st and S. 193rd in Broken Arrow and found a man had been shot four times.

Deputies arrested Watson at his home.  They also arrested his wife, Cathy Watson, as an accessory to the crime.

Investigators were able to lure Watson to his house by initiating a felony traffic stop on his vehicle.


]]> Crime Stories Wed, 23 May 2012 15:51:02 -0500 http://www.fox23.com:80/content/crime/story/Police-citizens-catch-speeding-driver/DEzTIJiJXECOGTrAgxySDg.cspx?rss=3017 http://www.fox23.com/s/DEzTIJiJXECOGTrAgxySDg.cspx Tulsa police say officers and citizens teamed up to arrest a speeding driver on Tuesday night.

Brock John Sandridge faces charges of possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of marijuana. Police arrested him at a Golden Corral restaurant near 21st and Memorial around 9 p.m.

Police say a corporal going to a squad meeting saw a Chevy Cobalt pass him at a high rate of speed on Highway 169 and the corporal attempted to catch up to the car, following it to 23rd and Memorial.

Witnesses flagged officers down and reported the car was at the Golden Corrall restaurant. They told police the driver got out of the car and put something in the bushes and then laid down in the front seat of the car.

Police say the suspect was acting as if he was asleep when police approached him and they say they smelled alcohol on his breath and person. Police also say they found marijuana and remnants of meth in the suspect’s possession and arrested him.

]]> Crime Stories Wed, 23 May 2012 15:32:46 -0500 http://www.fox23.com:80/content/crime/story/Man-burglarizing-west-Tulsa-car-arrested/2HaZmahsrEm0bnGjxgwUmQ.cspx?rss=3017 http://www.fox23.com/s/2HaZmahsrEm0bnGjxgwUmQ.cspx Tulsa police arrested a man suspected of stealing from a car in west Tulsa early Wednesday.

Police say an officer found Kyle Stromme searching through a car near W. Cameron and N. Santa Fe Ave. around two in the morning on Wednesday.

Police say Stromme ran when he saw officers, but a K9 officer tracked him down and he was arrested on complaints of burglary and resisting officers.

Stromme was arrested on similar complaints in March.  Police arrested him after a man caught Stromme stealing items from his car and called police.  Police say they found Stromme hiding in a public restroom at an area park.

]]> Crime Stories Wed, 23 May 2012 10:52:43 -0500 http://www.fox23.com:80/content/crime/story/Judge-orders-Kevin-Sweat-to-trial/YulCUJYAKUSKwdQeu1eclg.cspx?rss=3017 http://www.fox23.com/s/YulCUJYAKUSKwdQeu1eclg.cspx There is enough evidence for an accused killer to stand trial.

Kevin Sweat, 26, is accused of his murdering his fiancée Ashley Taylor in July 2011.

On Tuesday, an Okfuskee County judge heard testimony and looked at evidence in Taylor’s murder and bound Sweat over for trial.

As Ashley Taylor’s mother left the courtroom, a wave of emotion took over Patricia Coy.

"It's just hurts our heart,” said Coy.  

She took the stand and talked about how happy she was to marry Kevin Sweat.

On July, 17th, 2011, they were planning to head to Louisiana to get married. She was supposed to return on July, 29th, 2011 but she never saw her daughter after July 17th.

"It was horrible. I had not clue that he was capable of doing something like that,” said Coy.

Six people took the stand in Sweat’s preliminary hearing.

Sweat’s aunt, Delinda Morrison, testified Sweat told her he stabbed Ashley in the stomach after he broke up with her. He said he used his pocket knife because he was afraid Ashley was going to hurt him. Morrison testified Sweat told her Ashley was unarmed.

His father, Pat “Curtis” Sweat testified he found a smoldering burn pile on his property on July 17th and confronted Sweat about hit. Mr. Sweat said his son told him he was roasting marshmallows and cooking hot dogs. The next day Mr. Sweat found the same burn pile smoldering and an engagement ring in the burn pile.

Sweat told his father it must have been part of the trash he was burning.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations detectives testified they found human remains and eyeglasses that are believed to be Ashley Taylor’s.

"He killed my daughter and tried to dispose of her before anyone could find out,” said Ashley’s father Michael Taylor.

OSBI lead investigator in the case, Kurt Titsworth, testified Sweat told him four different stories and admitted in one of them he killed Ashley.

When Sweat was first questioned he told investigators he and Ashley got in a fight and she jumped out of the car. He then changed his story and said they went to Nichols Park in Henryetta.

He told investigators they got in a fight; he threw a pocket knife at her and told her “why don’t you kill yourself”. Sweat told agents that Ashley grabbed the knife and walked out to the pier and cut herself and then he grabbed the knife and slit her throat.

On the stand, Titstworth testified Sweat was afraid of breaking up with Ashley because she might hurt herself. He also said Sweat mentioned being afraid that Ashley may say something about the Weleetka murders.

That’s been a suspected motive but the investigator, prosecutors and the defense wouldn’t elaborate.

"What is the truth? What did she know, what didn't she know? Did she suspect something, didn't she suspect something? Or is that Kevin trying to set up his excuse,” said Taylor.

Some of the questions the defense asked in court appeared they are trying to build a case Ashley was unstable or possibly suicidal.

"I know he did it, I know Kevin murdered my daughter,” said Coy.

An Okmulgee police officer who took the missing persons report and questioned Sweat also testified. Officer Lyndon Spears testified he found a clean bottle of bleach in Sweat’s apartment. He also found knives, machete, empty magazines, and a three to four foot axe in the trunk of his car.

The defense asked for the trial to be dismissed for several reasons including the medical examiner not being able to positively identify the human remains as Ashley.

The judge denied the request.  

Sweat is scheduled to be arraigned on June 6th.

Sweat’s preliminary hearing is scheduled November 5th, 6th and 7th for the murders of best friend’s Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11.

The girls were shot to death on a rural road in Weleetka on June 8th, 2008.

Investigators say they found matching shell casings on Sweat’s father’s Weleetka property but they still have not found the gun.

Investigators are still looking for the .40 caliber Glock 22 handgun believed to be used in the killings.

The serial number is EKG463US and believed to have been sold at a Tulsa gun show in the spring of 2011.
]]> Crime Stories Tue, 22 May 2012 21:38:00 -0500 Judge orders Kevin Sweat to trial http://www.fox23.com:80/content/crime/story/Middle-school-student-posts-hit-list-on-Facebook/BDfqOmUZTUymaEfqJObRJg.cspx?rss=3017 http://www.fox23.com/s/BDfqOmUZTUymaEfqJObRJg.cspx An apparent hit list of middle school students shook up the last week of classes at Newman Middle School in Skiatook. It worried parents enough that roughly 200 students went home from school early Monday.

Investigators say last Wednesday the 6th grader threatened a teacher. He was kicked out of school and banned from school property. But by Saturday worried parents began calling police as word of the incident spread. Detectives then gathered statements from other students who witnessed the incident, as well as the student himself.

"At that particular point in time, I don't think he had the means to [carry out the threat]," Detective Jerry Bullard, Skiatook Police Department, said.   

By early Monday morning, Bullard got word that the student had posted on his Facebook page "Im gonna get all u m****r f*****s one way or another!" Then the student posted "my list," which included the first names of five classmates.

"It was decided it would probably be best if he was admitted into the hospital for some observation," Bullard said. "And as far as I know, he's still there."

But news of the Facebook posts, and subsequent fear, spread quickly among parents and students.

"It was pretty scary," Tina Wehrenberg, who's daughter is a classmate of the student, said. "My daughter called me freaked out, asking me to come get her."

Wehrenberg's daughter stayed, but roughly 200 of the 560 total students in the school left before the end of the day.

Despite rumors the student had shown up at the school with a gun, Newman Principal Steve Cantrell said nothing like that ever happened.

"They were never in any danger at all," Cantrell said. "We always knew what was going on."

Wehrenberg said she was just glad parents found out about the Facebook posts before the student had a chance to attack anyone. She said that's the reason she constantly monitors everything on her children's Facebook pages, and wishes more parents would do the same.

"Pull up your big girl panties and freakin' do something," Wehrenberg said. "Be active in your kids. They need it. They need it more today than we ever did when we were growing up."

Cantrell said because of privacy issues, school administrators and teachers can only do so much to monitor students outside of school and what they are talking about. He said this is a perfect example of how much they rely on parents to know what their kids are doing and talking about on Facebook and other social media.

Bullard said he doesn't think any other students were involved with the threats, and does not think the sixth-grader had access to any weapons.

If the student is released from the hospital, extra officers will be stationed at the school for extra security until students get out for summer break on Thursday.

It was unclear Tuesday whether the student would face any charges.
]]> Crime Stories Tue, 22 May 2012 18:44:03 -0500 Middle school student posts hit list on Facebook