Trial begins Tuesday on allegations of police shooting cover-up – 102.3 KRMG

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

TULSA, Okla. — The final defendant in a case that Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin once called one of the most serious breaches of trust in the department's history will have his case heard before a judge Tuesday.

Tulsa Police Lieutenant Marcus Harper was arrested along with former officers Ananais Carson and Latoya Dythe in the fall of 2021. At a press conference, Franklin and Rogers County Prosecutor Matt Ballard announced criminal charges against the three officers over allegations they helped cover up a shooting. which took place in the summer of 2020.

“The public has the right to trust law enforcement,” Franklin said during a press conference in November 2021. “They should be able to trust us.”

According to court documents, Dythe's boyfriend at the time and another man were involved in a shooting at a gas station near East 61st and South Peoria. The two men were borrowing Dythe's car, documents say, and they took the car back to Dythe's apartment in south Tulsa after the shooting.

Prosecutors say Dythe saw bullet holes and shell casings in her car, but before calling Tulsa police dispatch to bring investigators, Ballard said she called Harper and Carson to help him find a way forward.

“This affidavit further sets out Harper and Carson's alleged involvement in raising awareness of the shooting, as well as allegations regarding their role in assisting the offenders and covering up the crime,” Ballard said in 2021. “These charges remain in force. the proposition that no one is above the law.

Ballard said Carson and Harper encouraged the men and Dythe to get rid of the guns and shell casings before Dythe called Tulsa police dispatch to report the incident. Court records indicate that when other officers arrived at Dythe's car, they found no shell casings or other evidence that could have linked the car to the shooting.

Dythe would eventually plead guilty to a federal charge of illegally purchasing a gun for her boyfriend. Carson would plead no contest to a lesser charge in exchange for what is expected to be his testimony against Harper on Tuesday. Dythe is in the middle of a five-year probation period, and Carson is in the middle of a one-year probation period and had to pay about $375 in fines.

Harper's attorney has always told FOX23 that his client will prove his innocence in court, and Tuesday will begin the non-jury trial for Harper's charges. Once the judge has heard the evidence from all parties, he will take time to review all the evidence in the case before issuing his verdict in the coming days or even weeks.

Harper faces a single charge of accessory after the fact.