May 26, 2011 Alert casino security officer leads police to shooting suspect www.privateofficer.com
Pauls Valley, Oklahoma May 26 2011— A road trip to sell illegal drugs nearly turned deadly as an argument between two friends in rival Oklahoma City gangs resulted in a highway shooting near Wynnewood this weekend.
Now jailed and facing a criminal charge of shooting with intent to kill filed Monday is Andra Butler, 32, who told Garvin County authorities he used a small caliber gun to shoot Patrick Walker, 30, shortly after the two had pulled off Interstate 35 and onto Highway 17A just southwest of Wynnewood.
The shooting came early Saturday morning after the two had randomly chosen a place to stop in order to change drivers. The site is about 6 miles south of Pauls Valley.
According to Garvin County Sheriff Larry Rhodes, the suspect now in county jail here claimed both he and Walker had ties to rival gangs in Oklahoma City but came together to make a trip to Dallas, Texas to sell drugs.
“They were rivals but friends,” Rhodes said.
“They got into an argument coming back from Dallas. They were just passing through. They sold some drugs in Dallas and were just coming back. It was unrelated to anything here in Garvin County,” he said.
Rhodes said on Monday the shooting came around 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
“A manager of a horse ranch heard someone yelling for help,” Rhodes said.
“He found the victim lying in the roadway shot multiple times,” he said, adding the incident was then reported to the sheriff’s department
“Deputy David Lansdale arrived in minutes and was told by the victim that had been shot by someone he knew as Dra.”
Despite three, possibly four gunshots wounds to his face, back and upper left arm, Walker provided a description of the suspect and the black Jeep he was driving.
“The victim said Dra was likely going back to Oklahoma City where he lived,” the sheriff said, adding a bulletin was quickly issued for law enforcement to be on the lookout for the suspect.
The bulletin soon paid off as less than an hour after the shooting a security guard at the Washita Gaming Center west of Paoli reported seeing an individual matching the suspect’s description enter a convenience store at the site. That same guard also reported the subject had also arrived in a black Jeep.
The sighting was then reported to Lighthorse Police, which relayed the information to county authorities.
Rhodes was among the law enforcement officers who approached the suspect at the area center.
“When the guy comes out of the restroom I approached him and he said his name was Andra,” Rhodes said. “I determined this was the man we were looking for.
“He made some admissions at that time that he was the one we were looking for. He later confessed to the shooting.”
An affidavit filed in Garvin County District Court shows Butler admitted to firing the shots but claims the action was done in self-defense.
Rhodes said the sheriff’s office learned Walker was driving the vehicle when they pulled off the interstate onto a highway near Wynnewood and the G.W. Exotic Animal Park.
With the vehicle low on gas the two apparently decided to change positions so that Butler could drive.
“As he tried to get in the vehicle that’s when he was shot,” Rhodes said, referring to Walker.
Butler drove away as he went to a nearby truck stop searching for gas. He changed clothes there before then driving to the gaming center near Paoli, where he was later detained, according to the sheriff.
During a search of Butler’s vehicle deputies reported finding prescription pills and marijuana, along with a .25 caliber handgun believed to have been used in the shooting.
Walker was taken to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where on Monday he was in the intensive care unit but in stable condition.
Source:pvdemocrat.com
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