Local, State briefs
BY Staff Reports
Friday, October 05, 2012
10/05/12 at 2:13 AM
Arsonist gets three years for fire outside apartment
A man who was suspected of setting a series of fires was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal charge connected to one fire he admitted setting last year.
Gregg Alan Jackson, 49, was charged Feb. 7 with arson and misprision of a felony in connection with a fire April 25, 2011, outside his apartment in the 4600 block of South Fulton Avenue.
Jackson pleaded guilty April 3 only to the charge of misprision, which means concealing or not reporting a felony.
He said he started the fire but concealed his involvement by denying knowledge of its origin and by providing a false alibi to investigators.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Souders told the court in April that Jackson was already being watched by an arson investigator at the time of the fire because he was suspected of setting other fires.
U.S. Chief District Judge Gregory Frizzell said Jackson is to be under court supervision for one year after his prison sentence ends, during which time Jackson is to receive mental health and substance-abuse treatment.
- David Harper, World Staff Writer
Suspect in fire in Boulder Plaza lobby is arrested
Investigators with the Tulsa Fire Marshal's Office arrested a man Wednesday who is suspected of setting an apartment building ablaze after dumping gasoline in the building's lobby on Saturday.
Mark Anthony Colabella, 40, was arrested about 7:15 p.m. at his apartment in the 400 block of West Seventh Street, according to his arrest report.
He's accused of willfully and maliciously setting fire to the Boulder Plaza Apartments, 1840 S. Boulder Ave., about 4 a.m. Saturday, the arresting officer wrote.
The Tulsa Fire Department on Tuesday released surveillance images of a man who was suspected of being the arsonist as he purchased gasoline at a nearby convenience store before the fire.
Investigators credited the city's Arson Tip Line as instrumental in identifying Colabella.
He is in the Tulsa Jail on complaints of first- and fifth-degree arson. His bail is set at $40,000.
Fifth-degree arson refers to the violation of a state statute criminalizing the act of endangering life and emergency service personnel while committing arson.
The crime is punishable by as much as 10 years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.
- AMANDA BLAND, World Staff Writer
Governor's burn ban for entire state is lifted
OKLAHOMA CITY - All Oklahoma state-issued burn bans have been lifted, Gov. Mary Fallin's office announced Thursday.
Thirty-three counties had still been under the governor's burn ban after 22 counties were removed Sept. 28.
The only county-issued burn ban Thursday was in Cimarron County in the Panhandle, the Governor's Office said.
Higher humidity and recent rainfall has lessened the fire danger, but drought still persists in some counties, state forester George Geissler said.
The Governor's Office urged residents to remain cautious with any open flames outdoors.
The U.S. Drought Monitor classified 80 percent of the state as having "exceptional" or "extreme" drought Tuesday - down from 95 percent a week earlier.
Tulsa County's drought has been classified as extreme since early August.
- ZACK STOYCOFF, World Staff Writer
Missing people's family can provide DNA at fair
Tulsa police are asking family members of missing people to visit their booth at the Tulsa State Fair.
The Tulsa Police Department's Crime Scene Unit will be available Friday and Saturday at the west end of the QuikTrip Center's upper level to provide information on open missing-persons cases.
Investigators will also be taking DNA samples from "as many family members of missing persons as possible" using a swab inside the individual's mouth, according to a news release.
The department described the samples as invaluable to solving missing-persons cases.
"The Tulsa Police Crime Scene Unit strives to utilize any tool or technique available to solve these cases. (The department) welcomes input from the public, without whose aid and assistance many of these cases would remain unsolved," police said.
- AMANDA BLAND, World Staff Writer
Three Tulsans are killed in Rogers County crash
Three Tulsa men died Thursday as a result of a three-vehicle crash that occurred when one driver attempted to pass a truck and hit a car head-on in Rogers County, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.
Owen McCool, 29, Clifford Colyer IV, 21, and Garold Benner, 23, all were killed in a crash, which occurred about 4:15 p.m. on Oklahoma 266 - or 46th Street North - just east of 145th East Ave., the OHP reported.
McCool was driving a 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe east when he attempted to pass a tractor-trailer rig and ran head-on into a westbound 2003 Chevrolet Malibu driven by Colyer, according to the OHP. The impact knocked the Tahoe into the truck's trailer, and the SUV overturned.
Benner was a passenger in Colyer's vehicle, the OHP reported.
All three men were pinned in the wreckage before being extricated by Tulsa firefighters.
Colyer and Benner died at the scene, and McCool died later at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, the OHP reported.
The truck driver, Brian Rodriguez, 32, also of Tulsa, reportedly was not injured.
Troopers said everyone involved except McCool was wearing a seat belt.
- David Harper, World Staff Writer
Associated Images:
Jackson
Colabella
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