Police trial: Biographical sketches

BY JARREL WADE & GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writers
Thursday, August 25, 2011
8/25/11 at 5:35 AM

Grand jury investigates police corruption: Read all of the stories, view a timeline and read key documents.

Jeff Henderson, 38

Tulsa police officer

Career: Became an officer in June 1995. Suspended without pay July 2010.

Key Dates: Indicted and held without bail in the Tulsa Jail since July 2010. Found guilty on eight counts Wednesday and awaits sentencing.

Role: Was indicted under seal in July 2010 on 58 counts alleging civil rights violations, conspiracy to distribute drugs, and perjury. Four perjury counts were dismissed before testimony began, and a count of bribery of a witness was thrown out during the trial by the judge. Henderson testified during his trial.

He was convicted on eight counts: two counts of deprivation of civil rights and six counts of perjury. The civil rights violations are misdemeanors and are related to search warrants and arrests of Carah Bartel, William Kinnard and Ronald Crawford.

He was acquitted on 45 counts: 12 counts of civil rights violations, 11 counts of conspiracy, 11 drug-related counts, 10 counts of perjury and one count of possessing a firearm in relation to drug trafficking.

Bill Yelton, 50

Tulsa police officer

Career: Became an officer in April 1985. Suspended without pay July 2010.

Key Dates: Indicted on eight counts and held without bail July 2010. Acquitted of all counts and released from the Tulsa Jail on Wednesday.

Role: Yelton testified in his own defense, denying all counts against himself and Henderson.

Yelton was acquitted on eight counts, including four related to deprivation of an individual's civil rights, three related to witness tampering and one alleging conspiracy to suborn perjury.

Brandon McFadden, 34

Former ATF Agent

Career: Joined the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in July 2002. Resigned September 2009.

Key Dates: Pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy in May 2010. Began cooperating with prosecutors and was released to his home in Lubbock, Texas, pending sentencing.

Trial: McFadden testified against Henderson and Yelton. Defense attorneys and police officer testimonies branded McFadden a liar, while prosecution witness testimonies corroborated some of his allegations.

John K. "J.J." Gray, 45

Former Tulsa police officer

Career: Became an officer in March 1990. Retired in May 2010.

Role: Pleaded guilty in June 2010 to stealing money during an FBI sting. Cooperated with prosecutors in the investigation. He has been released pending sentencing.

Harold Wells, 60

Former Tulsa police corporal

Career: Became an officer in October 1975. Retired in May 2010.

Role: Indicted on 10 counts in July 2010. He was convicted in June on five counts.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Bruce Black threw out the conviction on one count of carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.

Wells remains in the Tulsa Jail pending sentencing. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison.

Bruce Bonham, 53

Tulsa police officer

Career: Became an officer in August 1990. Suspended with pay pending outcome of an Internal Affairs investigation.

Role: Indicted July 20, 2010, on five counts: two related to theft of U.S. funds, one related to civil rights violations, one drug count and one firearm count. Acquitted of all counts in June, and his pay was reinstated.

Nick DeBruin, 38

Tulsa police officer

Career: Became an officer in July 1999. Suspended with pay pending outcome of an Internal Affairs investigation.

Role: Indicted July 20, 2010 on five counts: two related to theft of U.S. funds, one related to civil rights violations, one drug count and one firearm count. Acquitted of all counts in June, and his pay was reinstated.

Callison Kaiser, 30

Former Tulsa police officer

Career: Became an officer in October 2004. Resigned August 2008.

Role: Cooperated with federal prosecutors and admitted to stealing drug money during a bust. Kaiser did not testify.

Eric Hill, 33

Former Tulsa police officer

Career: Became an officer in July 2005. Fired August 2010.

Role: Hill was fired after admitting that he planted drugs during a drug bust. Hill did not testify.

Frank Khalil, 35

Tulsa police officer

Career: Became an officer in January 2000.

Role: Testified for Henderson's defense, saying he never saw Henderson do anything illegal and denying the accusations from several of the prosecution's witnesses. Khalil is Henderson's former police partner, and his name appears in several of the search warrant affidavits that were a focus in the case. Khalil was identified in court records as a co-conspirator but was never indicted.

Sean Larkin, 37

Tulsa police officer

Career: Became an officer in January 1997.

Role: Testified for Henderson's defense, denying allegations from several of the prosecution's witnesses that he was involved in several of the counts against Henderson.

Larkin was identified in court records as a co-conspirator but was never indicted.

Shawn Hickey, 43

Tulsa police officer

Career: Became an officer in March 1989.

Role: Hickey was named in one prosecutor's claim that he participated in an alleged improper search and handling of evidence. Hickey was never indicted.