Tulsa World: Local, State Briefs

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | WIRELESS

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Local, State Briefs

Liu

By Staff Reports & NewsOK.com
Published: 10/9/2009 2:26 AM
Last Modified: 10/9/2009 4:57 AM

BA man reportedly attacks roommate with harmonica

A Broken Arrow man is facing the music after being accused of beating his roommate on the head with a harmonica.

According to Decai Liu's arrest report, his roommate was in the bathroom getting ready for work when Liu, 52, burst in and started beating him with the instrument.

Liu was charged Thursday with assault with a dangerous weapon in the attack Saturday in the 4500 block of West Norman Street in Broken Arrow, records show.

When officers arrived about 9:30 a.m., the roommate was covered in blood from cuts on his head and face. Medics took him to St. Francis Hospital, the report states.

Police tried to arrest Liu, but he allegedly resisted and head-butted one officer. Police eventually subdued him with pepper spray, according to the report.

Liu's roommate told police, "I don't know what his problem was," the report indicates.

Prosecutors also charged Liu with resisting an officer and assaulting an officer, court records show. Liu is in the Tulsa Jail in lieu of $6,500 bail.

Officers took the harmonica as evidence.

— Matt Barnard, World staff writer

Fort Gibson police chief tenders his resignation

FORT GIBSON — A week after town trustees fired a K-9 police officer, the police chief resigned, the town administrator said Thursday.

Joe Hughart submitted a letter of resignation Monday in which he cited personal reasons, Town Administrator Kathy Carson said. The trustees will vote on whether to accept the resignation at their meeting Monday, she said.

Hughart, 39, did not return calls seeking comment.

Carson said the resignation is effective Oct. 30. Hughart wrote in his resignation letter that his decision was based on what's best for his family, she said.

A 13-year veteran of the Fort Gibson Police Department, Hughart has been chief for 2 1/2 years, Carson said.

Earlier this month, the trustees fired Officer Billy Parris. Carson would not comment on the reason for the firing, but she said Hughart's resignation was unrelated.

— Sheila Stogsdill, World correspondent

DA: Lincoln County sheriff must be CLEET-certified

CHANDLER — Former Lincoln County Sheriff Wesley Paul Coffey cannot hold office without CLEET certification, and there is no exception for health reasons, an official said Thursday.

District Attorney Richard Smothermon sent a legal opinion to county commissioners Thursday evening stating that Coffey must abide by the rules set by the state Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training.

Coffey must be able to "perform all functions or duties of an Oklahoma peace or police officer," according to Smothermon's letter.

The letter also states that Coffey held the office on a temporary basis and was required to qualify for it no later than July 2.

He was allowed the time and granted extensions but was still unable to complete the requirements.

Coffey, Smothermon and District Judge Paul Vassar were notified Sept. 28 of Coffey's ineligibility. Coffey resigned two days later, but he told The Oklahoman on Monday that he was rescinding his resignation.

County Commissioner Don Sporleder said commissioners never received notification that Coffey was rescinding his resignation.

— Vallery Brown, The Oklahoman

B'ville teen's fatal shooting reportedly an accident

BARTLESVILLE — A Bartlesville teenager was killed Thursday evening in a reported accidental shooting at a home, authorities said.

Police Chief Tom Holland said officers were dispatched to a residence in north Bartlesville about 6:45 p.m. after a 911 caller reported the incident.

"The caller was hysterical," Holland said. "We had to calm him down. He said that there had been an accidental shooting and that his friend was lying on the floor in the garage."

The victim, a boy whose identity was not been released late Thursday, was dead when authorities arrived, Holland said. The weapon involved was reported to be a shotgun, he added.

Investigators were still at the scene late Thursday.

"It was reported as an accident, but we treat everything as a homicide until we know differently," Holland said. "We are interviewing witnesses right now. We're going to be working on this through the night."

Holland said more details would be released Friday.

— Tim Stanley, World staff writer

ME unable to determine woman's cause of death

HEAVENER — Nearly five months after a paraglider found the body of Jody Wilson on a mountainside in Heavener Runestone State Park, the state Medical Examiner's Office has ruled that the cause and manner of her death are unknown.

An autopsy report indicates that Wilson died under suspicious circumstances but that because of the advanced decomposition of the body, forensic pathologist Joshua Lanter could find no significant injuries or disease. Toxicology tests revealed nothing substantial, Lanter wrote.

One detail the Medical Examiner's Office was able to discern was that Wilson, 23, of Wister likely was already dead when she was dragged into the woods.

Investigators said the autopsy report sheds no light on what has been a frustrating case.

"It still doesn't tell us if it's a homicide or a suicide, an accidental or a natural death," Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said. "We're kind of left in a situation with nowhere to go. We're still following leads as they come in, but not many are coming in."

Radiographs of the body did not detect any skeletal injury, bullets, knife tips or other foreign objects.

— Johnny Johnson, The Oklahoman By Staff Reports & NewsOK.com

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	Report Comment Few Clothes, America (10/9/2009 10:30:49 AM) It's a good thing that he wasn't using a tuba instead.
	Report Comment WeThePeople, Tulsa (10/9/2009 11:05:07 AM) He needs to have the harmonica shoved up a dark place. He would certainly be playing a different tune!
	Report Comment Ric, Broken Arrow (10/9/2009 12:30:13 PM) Hope he wasn't using the late Uncle Zeb's harmonica.
	Report Comment Curt, Broken Arrow (10/9/2009 1:58:34 PM) "Liu was charged Thursday with assault with a dangerous weapon in the attack Saturday in the 4500 block of West Norman Street in Broken Arrow, records show." This proves that we need a harmonica control law. Not just anyone should be allowed to buy one of these "dangerous weapons". A background check and and a 10 day waiting period should be required. We should also crack down on those harmonica shows, at the fairground. Just think what would happen if an unregistered harmonica were to get into the hands of one of those north side gangs.
	Report Comment tulsandn, out in the woods (10/9/2009 3:06:13 PM) When they outlaw harmonicas only outlaws will have harmonicas.... You can take my harmonica away when you pry my cold dead hands off my harmonica....
	Report Comment 2ndjoyce, BA (10/9/2009 6:03:26 PM) I'll be sleeping with one under my pillow from now on.

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