JAY, Okla. – A Grove woman accused of drug trafficking fentanyl is facing up to a life sentence if convicted.
Shanie Roberts
Shanie Roberts, 46, is charged in Delaware County District Court in Jay with aggravated trafficking in illegal drugs – fentanyl, unlawful possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a controlled dangerous substance without tax stamp affixed.
Roberts and her two sons, Rusty, 21, and Rowdy Roberts, 20, are accused of distributing fentanyl in the Grove area, according to an arrest affidavit.
Drew Fish
Rusty and Rowdy Roberts are members of the Cherokee Nation tribe and were charged in Cherokee Nation Criminal Court in Tahlequah.
Shanie Roberts remains in the Delaware County jail on $95,000 bail. She received a court-appointed attorney on Friday.
Also charged is Drew Marshall Fish, 32, of Grove. He remains jailed on $125,000 bail, court records show.
Authorities seized 21 weapons and ammunition, fentanyl pills, 1,000 alprazolam pills, multiple bags containing unknown white powder, multiple bags containing mushrooms, digital scales, multiple glass bottles labeled alprazolam, multiple clear capsules containing an unknown substance and approximately $1,200 from the Roberts’ Grove residence.
DELAWARE COUNTY – The bodies of two individuals were found alongside a highway, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department confirmed on Tuesday.
The bodies were found near Oklahoma 28 and 395 Road around 6:30 p.m., said Delaware County Sheriff Captain Brandon Houston.
An automobile was found near the bodies, he said.
“It’s all under investigation,” Houston said. “We don’t know their identities, if they are male or female, how they died or how long they had been there.”
Update 9:20 p.m. The Vinita Police Department confirmed the inmate is in custody.
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CRAIG COUNTY – An Oklahoma Department of Corrections inmate walked away from state custody from the Northeast Oklahoma Community Corrections Center on Saturday.
Authorities are looking for Dallas Wayne Logan, 45.
He was last seen on a surveillance camera wearing orange pants and an Action staffing shirt and walking east towards I-44.
GROVE, Okla. – A Grove sex offender has filed a civil lawsuit seeking $1 million against a Kansas sheriff saying his “good reputation” was ruined after a social media site post alerted the public to the man’s activities.
Kirk William Owen, 65, is being held in the Beaver County, Oklahoma jail on no bail on an application to revoke a suspended sentence. He was taken into custody in Miami after a protective court hearing where he sought to have a relationship with a child.
Owen filed the lawsuit in Kansas Federal Court on Sept. 2 against Danny Smith, Crawford County Sheriff and Lisa Lusker, Crawford County Court Clerk.
The lawsuit will be turned over to the Crawford County counselor.
Smith had no comment about the lawsuit.
Smith is accused of posting on a social media site photographs of Owen and his white corvette saying he was wanted for questioning by the Crawford County, Kansas Sheriff’s Office. In July, Owen was seen – wearing only underwear and a shirt – driving a white convertible Corvette and had contacted several male juveniles at a park in Cherokee, Kansas. He allegedly gave them large bags of candy in exchange for the children telling him their home addresses.
Owen is seeking $750,000 for the loss of his reputation “the most valuable thing a person has,” according to the 6-page complaint.
Owen’s white Corvette at a traffic stop in Miami, Oklahoma on Sept. 8.
He is also seeking $200,000 for extreme emotional stress from fear of threats and $50,000 in punitive damages, the complaint states.
Owen’s complaint against the sheriff states Smith posted “many false statements” and “asked if anyone has infor [information] or whereabouts of Owen” to call the Crawford County Sheriff’s office. Owen also complained Crawford County deputy Chris Hall came to Owen’s Grove home which was prohibited because Hall crossed the state line, the complaint states.
Hall went to Owen’s Grove residence with a Grove Police officer.
The post was shared over 4,100 times and picked up by news outlets.
Owen stated he has received over 20 death threats, the complaint states.
The registered sex offender is seeking to have the post removed and an apology posted on the social media site stating there was no allegations of “luring or attempted abduction,” the complaint states.
“He (Smith) is doing this maliciously” and with intent “to hurt me,” the complaint states.
Owen requested a jury trial to be held in Wichita, the complaint states.
He was previously convicted on January 5, 1987, in Sedgwick County, Kansas of lewd behavior, online records show.
Oklahoma legal problems
Owen was charged in 2000 in Beaver County District Court in Beaver, Oklahoma with seven counts of lewd molestation. In 2002, he pleaded no contest to two charges and was sentenced to a 20-year suspended sentence and fined $2,500, according to online records.
A 2006 court order stated Owen had successfully completed probation but continues to be on an unsupervised basis.
After Owen was taken into custody on Thursday and taken to Beaver County jail his 2000 case was sealed and restricted per a judge’s court order.
It is not the policy of KSN/KODE to identify juveniles or in this case the family of the juvenile.
Owen was in Ottawa County District Court in Miami seeking a protective order against him dismissed after a father sought to prevent Owen from being around his then 11-year-old son.
Owen was sending gifts and leaving messages, including a sexually explicit message, for the child at the family’s home, court records show.
The registered sex offender filed a motion to dismiss the protective order saying there was no victim and the protective order sets a bad precedent because it allows parents “the sole purpose in choosing who the victim can be friends with or date,” according to court papers filed by Owen.
Court documents show Owen sent text messages to the victim’s family saying “he “would be a great role model” and the child “would benefit from his “experiences and wisdom.”
Owen’s court documents say the registered sex offender owns $300,000 Grove lake home, receives oil royalties and has a Porsche.
GROVE, Okla. — Despite high fuel costs and a severe drought, those who spent their summer on the lake didn’t miss out. Roger Pelcher with H2O Sports Rental in Grove tells us they actually had one of the busiest summers yet.
“We were worried about the gas prices being high, but it just, it just really hadn’t affected us as much as we thought it would. I mean, I think, still, people were staying close to home and going to the lake versus going long distance someplace. So, it’s just been good for us,” said Roger Pelcher, Director Of Operations, H2O Sports Rental.
The high temperatures this summer even allowed the business to start its season earlier than normal. And the water levels never got too low on Grand Lake.
“We try to get in the water by first of April every year, but when the weather is good, we try to get in there earlier, and usually when do we capture an additional piece of business that we didn’t get the prior year, so it helps. And the weather this year has been really good, you know, we’ve had some rain, but most days have been good, so we’ve been on the water a lot. We got an early start this year,” said Pelcher.
Pelcher also believes they stayed busy during the COVID-19 pandemic for similar reasons.
“When it first started, it was going to affect us drastically, and it did, we probably lost a quarter of a million dollars worth of reservations in three weeks. But then all of a sudden, people figured out, ‘I can’t go out of town, I can’t get on an airplane because of all the restrictions, so let’s go to the lake!’ They can come up here, they can stay in their own private unit, they could take a boat out where they kept their family intact where they didn’t have to worry about it, so for us, it became a positive,” said Pelcher.
GROVE, Okla. — With the summer season wrapping up, many boat owners are preparing their vessels for the off-season. Candlewyck Cove Resort in Grove tells us those who mainly use their boat in the summer are starting to prepare their boats for the winter now.
Don Thompson with Candlewyck Cove Resort says the most important part is making sure all the water is out of the boat, to ensure it doesn’t freeze and bust a motor.
“In the motor, it can freeze and bust the block if you do not fog the cylinders or anything like that it can cause rust build-up. Just various things that could cause small issues which turn into big issues. You should probably put some fuel stabilizer in, and then cover them and if you can, put them under a carport or in the garage. It’s the best for them,” said Don Thompson, Manager, Candlewyck Cove.
Thompson says most boat owners wait until October, but it’s important to have those boats winterized before the first freeze.
MIAMI, Okla. – An Ottawa County businesswoman filed a civil lawsuit after two women allegedly posted defamatory comments about her business on a social media site.
Tera Gooden, of Miami, is suing Heather Brown, 37, of Baxter Springs, Kan. and Kelsey Mellies, 31, of Carthage, in Ottawa County District Court in Miami.
Gooden referred all questions to her attorney Zach Enlow.
On Thursday, Mellies requested to speak to her attorney before commenting on the lawsuit. Efforts to locate Brown were unsuccessful.
“The defendant’s statements are not exempt just because they appeared on a social media site,” Enlow said.
Gooden, who owns a food truck business, is accusing the two women of posting comments that her business “is owned by a rapist” and the business is “owned by a registered sex offender,” according to the four-page complaint.
Brown had a previous domestic relationship with Andy Gooden, Tera Gooden’s current husband, according to online court records.
Andy Gooden is a registered sex offender and was convicted of statutory rape in 2007 when he was 25 years old.
Oklahoma Secretary of State records show Gooden’s business is in good standing and Tera Gooden is listed as the only registered agent and owner. Tera Gooden has never been charged in Oklahoma and is not a registered sex offender; online records show.
The lawsuit does not specify a monetary amount, but Gooden is seeking a money judgment and punitive damages.
Brown and Mellies’ posts “consistently encouraged individuals to not patron the subject business,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit states the women’s comments “are untrue and have caused Gooden significant harm.”
JAY, Okla. – A Delaware County man accused of making sexual comments to five children and then threatening to harm them is free on bail and due back in court in October.
Chad Joe Daniels, 44, of Jay, is charged in Delaware County District Court in Jay with two counts of lewd or indecent proposals to a child under 16 and threatening to perform an act of violence.
Chad Daniels
Daniels denied making any comments, according to an arrest affidavit. He was released on $51,000 bail, online records show.
After Jay police questioned Daniels, he was later seen “yelling, cussing” at an adult woman who reported him, the affidavit states. Daniels was overheard by a witness saying “she ought to be scared of him,” referring to the adult woman, the affidavit states.
He also made a sexual comment to the adult and after being rebuffed Daniels said “he was going to knock out her teeth,” the affidavit states. He also threatened one of the juvenile girls, the affidavit states.
Daniels is accused of making sexual comments to two 14-year-old girls and a 12-year-old girl and asking for their phone numbers and their Snapchat names, the affidavit states. He later made sexual comments to 2-year-old and 3-year-old boys and encouraged them “to run around naked,” the affidavit states.
UPDATE: The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported the highway near mile marker 290 was reopened around noon.
CRAIG COUNTY, Okla. — The Will Rogers Turnpike at mile marker 290 westbound in Craig County has been closed since 9:53 AM Monday for a RV that caught on fire.
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Cherokee Nation is committed to strengthening the tribe’s criminal justice programs, including launching a new initiative addressing domestic violence.
The Cherokee Nation Violence Against Women Act will be presented in September to the Cherokee Council, said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. during Saturday’s State of the Nation address in a prerecorded video.
Visitors from across the country attend the three-day holiday celebration which honors the signing of the Cherokee Nation Constitution in 1839.
“We must do more to put a blanket of protection around victims and survivors of domestic violence -women, children and men,” Hoskin said. “This law will help protect families and the most vulnerable citizens across our reservation.”
Under Hoskin’s leadership, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Services budget has increased by 267 percent and staffing capacity increased over 240 percent, he said.
“Expanding Cherokee Nation’s criminal justice system weighs on the shoulders of every leader of this Nation – and will continue to for generations to come,” Hoskin said. “We must get this right.”
Hoskin also praised the Council on the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act. Approximately $30 million is earmarked for repairing homes for elders and improving the community centers that serve them, he said.
Also, plans for the future include a 25-home housing addition in Tahlequah and hosting an Elders Summit will provide opportunities for creating new laws and programs to help protect Cherokee elders from fraud and abuse, a new drug treatment center and a $3 million Cherokee Artist Recovery Act.
“Our culture, of course, is rooted in our history and reflected in our art,” Hoskin said. “After some difficult years for our great artists, the Cherokee Artist Recovery Act will provide more opportunities for our artists to sell their art, teach their craft and therefore perpetuate our beautiful culture and lifeways across the reservation and across the country.”
Hoskin also called on the United States Congress to keep the country’s promise to the Cherokee people and to seat Kim Teehee as the Cherokee Nation’s delegate to the House of Representatives.
