McIntosh County prosecutors have filed a first-degree murder charge against a 14-year-old Checotah boy who allegedly shot his mother's former boyfriend after the pair argued.
Clad in an orange jail jumpsuit and sandals, Berry Joe Williamson sat stoically and said nothing during his initial court appearance on Tuesday. The judge denied him bond.
Williamson is accused of fatally shooting Rodger Dale Stockton, 65, Monday night outside Stockton's rural Checotah home.
Jimmy Hamm, McIntosh County Sheriff's chief deputy, alleged that Williamson told him he and Stockton argued after Stockton said something about Williamson's mother, Jean Williamson.
"He claimed Rodger hit him and he was afraid for his life," Hamm said. "He also said Rodger was walking away from him when he went to Rodger's pickup and got a 12-gauge shotgun."
Stockton was shot four times, authorities said.
Hamm said Stockton and Williamson had gone to a roping at the rodeo arena near Checotah Monday evening and returned to Stockton's home. The shooting happened between 8:30 and 8:45 p.m., Hamm said.
The teen called his mother, who went to the site and took her son to the Checotah Police Department, Hamm said.
"He turned himself in," the deputy said. "When I asked him if he couldn't have done something else, he said he could have got on a horse and gotten away."
Williamson said Stockton hit him hard and then later told Hamm that Stockton barely hit him, Hamm said.
Williamson can apply to the juvenile division of the district court for certification as a child before the start of his June 30 preliminary hearing.
His mother, Jean, refused comment after Tuesday's court hearing.
___
Information from: Muskogee Daily Phoenix & Times-Democrat, http://www.muskogeephoenix.com
