simple, Tulsa (5/5/2009 8:17:05 AM)

scannerman, why are you so vengeful??

WindRider, Heavener (5/5/2009 8:19:33 AM)

hmmmm obstructing justice, are they gonna have anyone to charge for the murder???

Tupelo, Tulsa (5/5/2009 8:21:50 AM)

simple..."why are you so vengeful"

are you serious? The man assisted in a murder or at least tried to cover one up...i don't think scannerman is being vengeful at all...this guy should get at least 20 yrs...what if it were your daughter or sister who was killed? just asking

Mistic_wolf, Tahlequah (5/5/2009 8:23:38 AM)

This is such bull!! He killed this women and only gets 4 years!! What the heck is going on? I just read a story about a dad who blames his 2 year old boy's bruses on being kicked by a horse. But the boy had welts from his butt all the way up his back bruses around his neck and bumps all over his head bruses all down his front and all the dead beat dad is being charged with is neglect and is out of jail, when the cops know that it wasn't the horse that did it. I am so sick and tired of hearing storys about how these son's of B's are getting away with this kind of things!!!

Bullhead, Nicut (5/5/2009 8:24:44 AM)

My question too, scannerman.

simple, if you knew this woman's family, you would understand. Only 4 years? Not enough for what they did to this woman. It wasn't in the news as to what they did to her. It was unimaginable.

WindRider, again, good question.

chase, rogers county (5/5/2009 8:26:55 AM)

Why is every case a plea deal,if this is going to be the justis system,do away with judges and let the lawyers handle the plea deal.

chase, rogers county (5/5/2009 8:27:23 AM)

justice

rocket, (5/5/2009 8:50:23 AM)

This AP story is woefully short on details. It was apparently rewritten from a longer story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, which I've reprinted below. It notes that a second-degree murder charge is still pending against Raymond Foster.

-------------

Bogalusa man pleads guilty in slaying of KKK recruit in St. Tammany Parish
Posted by Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune May 04, 2009

A purported member of a Bogalusa Ku Klux Klan group has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice in the killing of an Oklahoma woman who allegedly tried to back out of a Klan initiation last year in St. Tammany Parish.

Frank Stafford, 21, admitted obstructing the investigation into the murder of Klan recruit Cynthia Lynch, 43, who was shot to death Nov. 9 in a remote part of northeastern St. Tammany.
Raymond "Chuck" Foster, the alleged imperial wizard of the Bogalusa Sons of Dixie Knights, is charged with second-degree murder in Lynch's death.

Authorities have said Lynch was killed after she told Foster, 44, that she wanted to go home.

Foster's son, Shane, is also charged with obstruction of justice, but on April 21, state Judge Reginald "Reggie" Badeaux found him incompetent to stand trial. Shane Foster, 21, was ordered to get tutoring from a court-appointed forensic coordinator in the St. Tammany jail for 90 days in an effort to restore his competency and make him ready for trial.

Shane Foster does not have a factual understanding of the law or its procedures, according to expert testimony.

Shane Foster and Stafford allegedly drove to a gas station near Bogalusa where they asked a clerk how they could get bloodstains out of their clothes, part of an attempt to cover up the crime. Authorities have said that cover-up included digging a bullet out of Lynch's body, burning her possessions and dumping her body into a ditch on Lock No. 3 Road near Sun, St. Tammany Parish sheriff's officials said.

Stafford entered his guilty plea Thursday in Badeaux's courtroom in Covington.

St. Tammany Parish Assistant District Attorney Julie Knight said Monday that Stafford was not scheduled to appear in court and that the plea was unexpected. Stafford's defense attorney, James Mecca, did not return calls for comment.

An obstruction of justice charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The charge carries no minimum penalties.

Rick Wood, the district attorney's spokesman, said he was told of the plea agreement Monday afternoon and said his office could not comment on the details of Stafford's involvement because the other defendants are awaiting trial.

Raymond Foster is scheduled for a hearing May 18, but some people familiar with the case speculate that he will not go to trial for at least several more months.

According to clerk of court records, Badeaux on Thursday informed Stafford of the charge and the possible penalties, and Stafford and Mecca signed a written waiver of Stafford's rights. The state and defense then stipulated that there was a factual basis to support the charge.

Badeaux accepted that stipulation and Stafford then pleaded guilty, admitting to "tampering with evidence with the specific intent of distorting the results of a criminal investigation, " according to court records.

Badeaux accepted the plea, determining it was made freely and voluntarily, records state.

Danielle Jones, another alleged Klan member, is accused of being an accessory after the fact for giving authorities false information immediately after the slaying.

Her next hearing is scheduled June 1. Accessory after the fact carries a maximum of five years in prison.

xf8drvr, Tulsa (5/5/2009 9:15:28 AM)

Re: Simple's question "..vengeful.."
Possibly you should consider adding letters "ton'
to your screen name. Time to wake up and see just who was vengeful here.

QLC, (5/5/2009 9:21:01 AM)

They were so caught off guard they could only get the 4 out rather than the intended 40.

It is clear that simple has done some time.

dslat, Tulsa (5/5/2009 9:34:59 AM)

Rocket thank you for posting the article.

Cheyenne, Tulsa (5/5/2009 9:46:22 AM)

She was trying to join the KKK. They are known killers. Obviously she had no clue what she was dealing with. It doesn't justify her murder but if you are playing with matches then it is no surprise when you get burned.

Arbythree, Tulsa (5/5/2009 9:57:36 AM)

What a travesty of justice.

Ignatz, Broken Bow (5/5/2009 10:06:05 AM)

No one says this guy was the shooter but commenters. All facts point to some other half wit awaiting trial. Looks like the others will rat him out on plea deals. Nothing really out of the ordinary here.

Arbythree, Tulsa (5/5/2009 10:09:07 AM)

Sorry that it is so "ordinary". I know he was NOT the shooter, but he was involved in the cover-up. The fact he took a plea deal, means he would have gotten much more time and therefore, to me, he should have.

Otis_McCracken, (5/5/2009 10:22:18 AM)

Whats the big deal? Just one less racist we have to live with. And no, I don't feel sorry for the families, either...

Fred, Tulsa (5/5/2009 10:24:26 AM)

Life is "cheap" in La. They killed the David Bowie look alike gal and then tried to cover it up. But it is La. so don't look for any great jail time.

gtopor, Tulsa (5/5/2009 10:26:17 AM)

poor little racists and their feelings... Maybe this situation can enlighten some more idiots that think they are better than anyone else due to their race!

Ignatz, Broken Bow (5/5/2009 10:30:00 AM)

Fred, looks more like Christopher Walken.

AngelsCu, Tulsa (5/5/2009 10:33:03 AM)

Thanks Rocket, for telling MORE of the story. Lightens confusion a little. So...IF you are in a group, that decides to KILL someone that changes their mind...The person that uses their own hands to commit the crime gets 2nd degree murder, but the ones that hold them, or cleans up the evidence, gets 4 years (or less) for "obstructing justice"...??!!??!! "THOU SHALL NOT KILL!" So the message to our future kids of America is: (?) Sweetheart, if you only "help kill", you get thumped and get a lot less time...? Does anyone see this message coming across like I do?

uklynbereg, (5/5/2009 10:34:10 AM)

Another example of a pathetic woman tagging after all the wrong men. As in the case of the murdered Bishop Kelly teenager, hanging out with bad people can get you killed.

Marine2003, Broken Arrow (5/5/2009 10:45:20 AM)

Yup, one less racist. I agree with Otis McCracken. However, 4 years for this guy is a little ridiculous. Let's get rid of this racist too!

wildcat, Glenpool (5/5/2009 10:47:08 AM)

uklynbereg...
What?? Did you read any of the stories? Lynch had gone to LA to join the klan. She wasn't "hanging out" with these people as in a woman hanging with a man. And this story has nothing to do with the Bishop Kelly teenager. Maybe, when your family gets faced with a brutal death in its group, you will develop some compassion and not be such a quick and harsh judge.

tnt091605, (5/5/2009 11:56:37 AM)

Mistic_wolf, Tahlequah (5/5/2009 8:23:38 AM)
This is such bull!! He killed this women and only gets 4 years!! What the heck is going on? I just read a story about a dad who blames his 2 year old boy's bruses on being kicked by a horse. But the boy had welts from his butt all the way up his back bruses around his neck and bumps all over his head bruses all down his front and all the dead beat dad is being charged with is neglect and is out of jail, when the cops know that it wasn't the horse that did it. I am so sick and tired of hearing storys about how these son's of B's are getting away with this kind of things!!!

Cops do not choose what the person is charged with, district attorneys select the charges.

Graychin, Eucha (5/5/2009 12:23:42 PM)

Everyone involved sounds like a fine specimen of the "master race." Mental defectives all.

From the longer story (thank you, Rocket), it appears that a conviction of murder for Stafford would have been doubtful. Taking his plea appears to me to be a good call by the prosecution.