Notable child abuse,child pornography and child neglect cases
Judge LaFortune has presided over numerous jury trials and cases involving child abuse and neglect. [18]
Scott Allen Bolden trial
Scott Allen Bolden was convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse by injury in the death of a 19-month-old toddler,the little daughter of his girlfriend at the time. [19] The prosecution maintained that Bolden used unreasonable force upon the child,causing fatal subdural hemorrhaging,extensive retinal hemorrhaging and bruises all over her body. [19] LaFortune sentenced Bolden to back-to-back life sentences. [19] Bolden maintained throughout the proceedings,including at sentencing,that the child's injuries were caused accidentally,and LaFortune noted at sentencing that he found it “incredible”that Bolden continued to claim the child's death was caused by accident. [19] LaFortune was affirmed on appeal by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. [20]
Yvon Demesmin trial
LaFortune's child abuse jury trials also include the trial of Yvon Demesmin,a former school security guard,convicted of several counts of child sexual abuse. [21] Demesmin had maintained at trial that the various sex acts he had engaged in with a young girl were acceptable in his native country of Haiti,although a prosecution witness,that was also a native Haitian,testified that the country does not condone sex with children. [21] LaFortune sentenced Demesmin to 2 consecutive life terms and 3 concurrent 25-year prison sentences. [21] At sentencing,LaFortune said,“That should protect the public”. [21]
Jeffery Arch Jones trial
Another child abuse injury trial presided over by Judge LaFortune involved Jeffery Arch Jones,convicted of 5 counts of child sexual abuse. [22] LaFortune sentenced Jones to 175 years in prison,to be served consecutively. [22]
John Mark Jennings trial
Judge LaFortune also presided over the jury trial of John Mark Jennings,convicted of 4 counts of sexual abuse of a child family member over the course of 3 years. [23] Judge LaFortune sentenced Jennings to 115 consecutive years in prison. [23]
Timothy Shawn Cato trial
Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of Timothy Shawn Cato,convicted of 11 counts of child sexual abuse committed against 5 boys he met through church and while doing volunteer work for a local Department of Human Services Shelter. [24] In sentencing Cato to more than 200 consecutive years in prison,LaFortune noted that Cato had consistently tried to minimize,justify or otherwise rationalize his actions against the boys,who were ages 7 to 17. [24] Judge LaFortune further stated at sentencing that “There appears to be a pattern of behavior”that “was very telling to the court”that Cato repeatedly put himself in a position to work in areas “where the most vulnerable young boys were found”. [24]
Paul Owen Hamilton trial
Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of Paul Owen Hamilton,who was convicted of distribution of child pornography and aggravated possession of more than 100 images of child pornography. [25] Detectives had found 241 images containing child pornography on Hamilton's computer,including images of a girl who appeared to be 12 or younger wearing only high heel shoes and lying on a white rug. [25] LaFortune sentenced Hamilton to 30 years in prison. [25] LaFortune was affirmed on appeal by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in a published decision. [26]
“Alien Baby”case
Judge LaFortune accepted the plea of Candace Marie Stanley,who pleaded guilty to a child-neglect charge alleging she had exposed her newborn to Xanax,marijuana,methamphetamine,and/or heroin. [27] Stanley was arrested after emergency responders found the newborn on a pile of trash in her apartment. [27] Responders found Stanley “swinging her placenta around”and she told the EMTs that the baby was an “alien”and she refused to hold him to keep him warm. [27] The baby had to have multiple life-saving medical treatments,including heart-lung bypass surgery. [27] LaFortune sentenced Stanley to a 20-year term,15 years after that on probation. [27]
The “Shed”case
Judge LaFortune presided over the case of a 5-month baby boy that was living in what was initially termed as a “dirty shed”. [28] Anna Marie Hyden and Kevin Lee Crawford were charged with child neglect and both entered guilty pleas. Prosecutors claimed that Hyden and Crawford had exposed the baby to methamphetamine,which along with their failure to seek medical care contributed to the baby dying January 16,2016. [29] Police described the shed as “deplorable”with no running water,no heat,no insulation and the only power coming from an extension cord running from a nearby home. [28] Debris in the shed included hypodermic needles,trash,chemicals and drug paraphernalia. [28] Authorities said the couple had used or manufactured methamphetamine in the presence of the baby who slept in the shed's attic. [28]
Judge LaFortune sentenced Hyden to 20 years in prison and Crawford to life in prison. At sentencing,LaFortune rejected Hyden's request for drug treatment in lieu of prison,noting that what she did to the baby “transcends mere addiction”and that she had “completely failed”to comply with her rules and conditions of probation in a previous felony case and an array of treatment options that had been made available to her. [29] Judge LaFortune,in sentencing Crawford,who had a criminal record dating to 1983,stated that he had brought Hyden into his life as his “puppet”in a “horrendous ride”of drug abuse. [29]
Starvation of special needs child
Judge LaFortune presided over the child neglect case of Victor Castro-Huerta and Christina Calhoun. Castro-Huerta and Calhoun were charged with nearly starving to death a 5-year-old special needs child. [30] The child had presented at Saint Francis Hospital weighing only 19 pounds and “severely dehydrated”and “extremely malnourished”. [31] A jury convicted Castro-Huerta and LaFortune sentenced him to 35 years in prison as recommended by the jury. [31]
At Calhoun's sentencing,her attorney argued that a life sentence for her would be cruel,but LaFortune,in sentencing her to a life prison term,stated,“I don't believe a life sentence is cruel. The starvation of special needs child is cruel”. [30] He also noted that the 5-year-old,who has cerebral palsy,was “singled out due to her special needs”based in part on evidence that all the other children in the home were healthy and happy. [30] The child has multiple medical issues caused by extended starvation. [30]
Notable crimes against women cases
Judge LaFortune has presided over many jury trials involving charges of sex crimes against women. [18]
Admiral Street Rapist case
Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of the so-called “Admiral Street Rapist”,Shawn Conrad Freeman. Police conducted an 18-month investigation into reports of rapes in the Admiral Place area which resulted in Freeman's arrest and subsequent charges:4 counts each of first-degree rape and kidnapping,5 counts of sodomy,and 1 count of robbery. [32] LaFortune followed the jury's recommendation and sentenced the convicted serial rapist to 365 consecutive years in prison. [32]
Ex-Tulsa County deputy convicted of sex crimes
Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of former Tulsa County deputy Gerald Nuckolls,who was charged with sex crimes allegedly committed while on duty. [33] Nuckolls was convicted of Indecent Exposure and Sexual Battery and LaFortune sentenced him to 8 consecutive years in prison as recommended by the jury. [33] LaFortune was affirmed on appeal. [34]
Rape of elderly woman in nursing home by nurse
Judge LaFortune presided over a case involving the rape of an 84-year-old woman with dementia at a Tulsa assisted living center. [35] Stephen Craig Reed,who was a nurse at the center,pleaded guilty to the rape and LaFortune sentenced him to 20 years in prison. [35] At sentencing,the prosecutor called Reed a “sexual predator”for “taking advantage”of a woman in a “most vulnerable”state. [35] In delivering his sentence,LaFortune noted that Reed had shown a “pattern of minimalizing”his actions and placing blame on the victim. [35] A year later,LaFortune refused to modify Reed's 20-year sentence at a judicial review. [36]
Notable DUI manslaughter cases
Judge LaFortune has presided over numerous DUI fatality cases. [18]
Christina Cantrell case
Judge LaFortune presided over the case involving Defendant Christina Cantrell. She entered a blind guilty plea to 2 counts of first degree manslaughter,driving under the influence,causing great bodily harm and other related charges. [37] Cantrell had run a red light while driving under the influence and crashed into a vehicle,killing two of its occupants and injuring 3 others. [37] A 12-year-old and her 16-year-old sister were thrown from the car on impact. [37] The 12-year-old and 16-year-old later died at Saint Francis Hospital. [37] LaFortune sentenced Cantrell to life in prison. [37]
Whitney Tatum Wheeler case
Judge LaFortune presided over the case of Defendant Whitney Tatum Wheeler. She was charged with 1 count of first-degree manslaughter and 1 count of driving under the influence and causing great bodily injury. [38] The investigation revealed that Wheeler rear-ended a 1920 Ford Model T while she was driving 65 mph and was still accelerating at impact. [38] The impact caused the car to roll and its driver was killed,and a passenger suffered several injuries. [38] LaFortune sentenced Wheeler to 25 years in prison. [38]
Christopher David Mitchell case
Judge LaFortune presided over Defendant Christopher David Mitchell's second-degree felony murder case. Mitchell was charged with first hitting a motorcycle with 2 occupants,injuring both,fleeing that scene at 75 mph and then crashing into the vehicle of a 22-year-old woman,killing her. [39] Her husband termed her death as “a murder,not an accident”. [39] LaFortune sentenced Mitchell to life in prison after he entered a blind guilty plea. [39]
Notable first-degree murder cases
Judge LaFortune has presided over many jury trials in first-degree murder cases. [18]
Isaac Luna Ashton murder case
Defendant Isaac Luna Ashton was convicted by a jury of shooting and killing 3 unarmed individuals at close range. LaFortune sentenced Ashton to 2 consecutive life without parole terms for the murders. [40] He had earlier denied Ashton's request for immunity under Oklahoma's “Stand Your Ground”law. [41] LaFortune was affirmed on appeal by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in a published decision. [42]
Gilcrease Expressway murder
Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trials of David Ruble and Travis Lozada,who were convicted of felony murder first-degree in the random slaying of a 14-year-old girl who was innocently traveling home with her family along the Gilcrease Expressway after a day of recreation at Keystone Lake. [43] He sentenced Ruble to a life term plus 10 years and Lozada to life in prison without parole plus 10 years. [43] At the sentencing of Lozada,LaFortune noted,“This concludes one of the most tragic stories of Tulsa County criminal justice history. A young girl was shot basically at random in a botched,poorly planned robbery.” [43] LaFortune was affirmed on appeal in Ruble's case. [44]
Papa John’s Pizza murder
Judge LaFortune presided over the trial of Frankie Jackson Jr. and the sentencing of his 2 co-defendants,Jermaine Savory and Damian Anderson. [45] They were charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a Papa John's truck driver while he was making a delivery and unloading his truck behind a Papa John's pizza restaurant in the early morning hours. [45] He sentenced Jackson,who was convicted of felony murder by a jury,to life in prison and Savory,who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder,to life in prison. [45] Anderson was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading to a charge of accessory to first-degree felony murder. [45] LaFortune was affirmed on appeal in Jackson's case. [46]
North Tulsa barber shop murder
Judge LaFortune presided over the trial of Dezmen “Dash”Smith,who was charged along with Chadrick Lamont “Fat Cat”Colbert in a gang-related shooting that killed an innocent barber while he was cutting hair and injured 3 customers,including a child. LaFortune sentenced Smith to life in prison for first-degree murder and Colbert,who testified at Smith's trial on behalf of the prosecution,to 15 years for accessory after the fact to murder and 3 counts of assault and battery with a deadly weapon,pursuant to a plea agreement with the state. [47] LaFortune was affirmed on appeal in Smith's case. [48]
James Edward “G-Baby”Knapper murder case
Judge LaFortune presided over the first-degree murder trial of James Edward “G-Baby”Knapper. A jury convicted Knapper of a gang-related daytime shooting and killing of a 16-year-old girl,who was an innocent bystander and the unintended target in what a prosecutor called a “gangland assassination”. [49] The prosecutor argued that Knapper's intent was to kill a different person because of that person's membership in a rival gang. [49] Knapper,who was 14 at the time of the crime,was sentenced by Judge LaFortune to life in prison for first-degree murder and 55 years for assault and battery with a deadly weapon related to the intended victim and 5 years for a gang-related offense. [49] Knapper was 16 at the time LaFortune imposed the sentence. At sentencing,LaFortune stated that the shooting death of the 16-year-old girl was “especially tragic and senseless”. [49] He further noted that Knapper's behavior during his trial showed “a complete lack of accountability and a lack of any semblance of remorse”and his belief that he would have continued to commit violent crimes had he not been charged and arrested in the incident. [49] After sentencing,the prosecutor noted that Knapper's behavior at the trial was “not juvenile behavior. It's (the) behavior of someone who truly enjoys the fact that they're getting credit for killing someone”. [49]
Murder of mother and unborn child
Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of Kenneth Hopkins who was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a woman who was about 8 months pregnant with a boy who would have been her second child with Hopkins. [50] Prior to trial,LaFortune had denied Hopkin's request to dismiss the case for a violation of the Uniform,and that ruling was affirmed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in a published decision that made new Oklahoma law on the issue. [51] Pursuant to the jury's sentencing recommendations,LaFortune sentenced Hopkins to 2 consecutive life-without-parole terms for the killing of the 19-year-old woman and their unborn child. [50]
Jabara case
Vernon Majors first appeared before Judge LaFortune on a pending charge of Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon. [52] Afterwards,his defense attorney filed a motion to quash and dismiss Major's case on April 12,2016. LaFortune after a full hearing,denied the Motion to Dismiss. [52] A new defense attorney subsequently entered the case and requested a bond be set. In May 2016,the district attorney's office asked Judge LaFortune to hold Vernon Majors without bond or set bond to $300,000 for charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon case in which Majors is accused of running over Haifa Jabara,an Arab-American Christian,with a car in September 2015. Relying on the pre-set Tulsa County Bond Schedule,Judge LaFortune initially set the bond at $30,000 per the Bond Schedule. Then upon the State's request,and over the Defendant's objection,he doubled the bond to $60,000,which is also the amount pre-set by the Tulsa County Bond Schedule for the charge of Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon,after a former felony conviction. When the bond was set at $60,000 by Judge LaFortune,Majors had a protective order in place against Khalid Jabara and Mr. Jabara had a protective order in place against Majors. Majors was released on May 25,2016.
Almost three months after Majors made the $60,000 bond,the State filed first degree murder charges against Majors for the death of Khalid Jabara. Vernon Majors was arrested on Friday August 12,2016,accused of shooting and killing Haifa Jabara's son,Khalid Jabara. [53] LaFortune was the judge for the trial of Stanley Vernon Majors,accused of killing his neighbor,Khalid Jabara,on August 12,2016. [54] A trial is still pending as to this charge as well as the previous charge.
Universal Aryan Brotherhood murder and assault case
Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of Ronnie Dean Haskins,who was convicted of fatally stabbing a man in his home in 2013. [55] Haskins was accused of involvement in the Universal Aryan Brotherhood,a “white only”prison-based criminal organization whose members engage in drug distribution,money laundering and acts of violence involving kidnapping,assault and arson throughout Oklahoma. [55] LaFortune sentenced Haskins to 2 consecutive life sentences,one of which was without parole,upholding the jury's recommendation. [55] LaFortune was affirmed on appeal. [56]
In another case with allegations relating to the Universal Aryan Brotherhood,Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of Jestin Tafolla,who was found guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon,brass knuckles,of a black man during a road rage incident in East Tulsa in 2016. [57] LaFortune followed the jury's recommendation in imposing a life sentence. [57]
Irish Mob Gang murder case
Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of John Kyle Crandall,who was convicted of first-degree murder in a fatal Irish Mob gang-related shooting and he also pleaded guilty and was convicted of intimidating a prosecution witness and having contraband in his jail cell. [57] During the trial,prosecutors read jailhouse correspondence from Crandall that detailed his membership in the Irish Mob Gang,its importance to him and the Irish Mob Gang's rivalry with members of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood. [57] Crandall wrote in that correspondence that he would “put the Mob first,even above my family....I do what needs to be done,and I do what I'm told even if it means losing my own life”. [57] LaFortune upheld the jury's sentencing recommendation of life in prison without the possibility of parole and,at sentencing,told Crandall that he believed the jury,“through their verdicts,told you cold-blooded murder on our streets will not be tolerated”. [57]
