1 OA

Nov. 21, 2013

The Journal Record

journalrecord.com

LEGAL BRIEFS
Tulsa DA said he won't seek re-election
TULSA - Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris has announced that he will not seek re-election in 2014. Harris said in a statement that after prayer and reflection, he decided not to run again. His term will end on Dec. 31, 2014. He has not ruled out running for other offices though. He said he is putting together an exploratory team to vet future opportunities in public service, law, business, education and ministry. Harris has been a prosecutor in Tulsa County for more than 27 years and served 15 years as the district attorney for the state's second-largest city. Harris thanked the citizens of Tulsa for allowing him to serve.
Associated Press

Tulsa man pleads guilty to wire fraud

TULSA - A former oil and gas company manager has pleaded guilty to wire fraud involving the embezzlement of more than $693,000 and for tax crimes. Forty-five-year-old James Rhea Cooley, of Tulsa, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and three counts of making a false federal income tax return. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma Danny C. Williams announced the plea on Wednesday. Court documents say that from August 2008 to January 2011, Cooley defrauded his employer by invoicing for services he didn't actually perform and depositing the payment check into a consulting company he created. The payments were then spent on personal expenses. Sentencing in the case has been set for Feb. 25. - Associated Press

Cathy Christensen of Oklahoma City, far left, Joe Vorndran of Shawnee, center, Drew Edmondson of Oklahoma City, second from right, and Melissa DeLacerda of Stillwater, far right, received President's Awards from Oklahoma Bar Association President Jim Stuart of Shawnee, second from left. The awards were presented at the OBA's annual meeting in Oklahoma City. COURTESY PHOTO

DeMoss to serve as OBA president

OKLAHOMA CITY - Tulsa attorney Renee DeMoss will serve as the Oklahoma Bar Association's 2014 president. She will lead the OBA's 18-member board of governors, which meets monthly. As chair-elect in 2013, DeMoss' succession to the top leadership position was automatic. Other election results were announced at the OBA's 109th annual meeting in Renee DeMoss Oklahoma City. DeMoss is a shareholder in the Tulsa law firm of Gable Gotwals. She served on the board of directors for both the National Conference of Bar Foundations and Oklahoma Attorney Mutual Insurance Co. She is a member of the American Inns of Court, Council Oak Chapter. She received the Oklahoma Bar Foundation President's Award in 2003, OBA Mona Lambird Spotlight Award in 2007, OBA Alma Wilson Award in 2008, and OBA Hicks Epton Law Day and ABA Outstanding Law Day Awards in 1999. She received the TCBA President's Award in 1993, 1999, 2000 and 2010, and received the TCBA Golden Rule Award in 2011. She graduDavid A. Poarch Jr. ated laude from Oklahoma City University and received her law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1984. David A. Poarch Jr. of Norman will fill the role of president-elect, and Susan S. Shields, a shareholder with McAfee & Taft in of Oklahoma City, will serve as vice president. Shawnee lawyer James T. "Jim" Stuart, who serves as OBA president in 2013, will remain on the OBA board of governors for one year as immediate past president. Also elected to the OBA board of governors to represent their Supreme Court judicial districts are John W. Kinslow of Lawton, James it Marshall of Shawnee and Kevin T. Salm of Idabel. They will serve three-year terms. Also electSusan S. Shields ed to a three-yearterm as memberat large was Deirdre O'Neil Dexter of Sand Springs. Kaleb Hennigh of Enid will serve a one-year term as OBA Young Lawyers Division chairperson. New officers and board of governors members will take office Jan. 1.
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Appeals court affirms life sentence in death

OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma appeals court has upheld the life prison sentence of a man convicted of killing a rival gang member over drugs and territory. The state Court of Criminal Appeals denied the appeal of 31-year-old Corey Dean Sellers. Sellers was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury in Oklahoma County in the Feb. 26, 2009, shooting death of 21-year-old Neiman Edward Mornes. Prosecutors alleged that Sellers, a high-level member of the Playboy Crips, targeted Mornes, a Sunnyside Bloods member, because he was selling drugs on Playboy turf. A key piece of evidence in the case was a note written by Sellers while in custody directing gang subordinates to lie for him in - Associated Press court.

Staff report

Okla. teen indicted for benefits fraud

OKLAHOMA CITY - A federal grand jury has indicted an 18-year-old Moore

resident for disaster benefits fraud involving a massive tornado that struck Moore in May. U.S. Attorney Sanford Coats said Blake Lynn Self is charged in an indictment unsealed Thursday. Federal court records do not list an attorney for Self. The indictment alleges that Self submitted a false claim for monetary benefits to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It said Self told a FEMA inspector his primary residence when the May 20 tornado struck was a house in Moore when, in fact, it was not his primary home. The indictment is the second returned this month for disaster

fraud connected to the Moore tornado. If convicted, Self faces up to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and payment of restitution. - Associated Press

Death-row inmate seeking clemency

OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma death-row inmate scheduled to be executed in January plans to ask the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to commute his death sentence. Attorney General Scott Pruitt said the board has scheduled a clemency hearing on Dec. 16 for 38-year-old

Michael Lee Wilson, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the beating death of a Tulsa convenience store manager. Wilson's execution is set for Jan. 9. Wilson was one of four men found guilty in the Feb. 26, 1995, beating death of 30-year-old Richard Yost. Yost was found bound and beaten on the floor of the convenience store's cooler. Authorities say he was struck dozens of times with a baseball bat. Two co-defendants have already been executed for the crime. The fourth was sentenced to life in prison.
Associated Press