Two members of the Tulsa Police Department have been arrested for allegedly hampering the investigation of a gang shooting, a crime a third officer who recently pleaded guilty to federal gun charges is also tied to.
TPD announced during a Tuesday afternoon news conference Lt. Marcus Harper and Ofc. Ananias Carson both face a felony charge of accessory to a felony. Both men were arrested within the next two hours.
Sworn affidavits say they went to Ofc. Latoya Dythe’s apartment in August 2020 after her brother’s boyfriend drove her car to a shootout at a nearby convenience store but before other officers were called.
According to the affidavits, Harper and Carson checked Dythe’s car for evidence then told her boyfriend, Devon Jones, and his brother Jonathan to get rid of the guns used in the shooting, leave Tulsa and not tell anyone they’d been there.
Harper and Carson then allegedly tried to hide their visit to Dythe’s apartment from investigators.
Craig, Mayes and Rogers County District Attorney Matt Ballard filed the charges with the Tulsa County DA Steve Kunzweiler recusing himself from the case.
"These charges stand for the proposition that no person is above the law, and Tulsa Police Department should be commended for their commitment to ensuring an accurate and comprehensive investigation," Ballard said.
Chief Wendell Franklin said the public needs to be able to trust Tulsa police officers, and they need to be able to trust each other.
"Early in my tenure, I set high expectations and I've been consistent with holding those high expectations, and I hold those accountable who fall short. My expectation is simple: I want the best for this department, and I want the best for this city," Franklin said.
Dythe pleaded guilty in April to lying on federal firearm forms to buy a gun in April 2020 for Devon Jones. She was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
Harper and Carson are now on leave without pay. Harper is married to City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, who told The Frontier in 2019 she believed TPD was "targeting" her husband because of their support of a proposal for an independent police oversight body. That proposal has been blocked by the police union since Mayor G.T. Bynum announced it in 2019.
Franklin said Harper has been with TPD since 1995, was promoted to lieutenant in 2012 and was most recently supervisor of the department's major crimes unit. Carson has been with TPD since 2006 and was most recently on patrol in the Riverside division, Franklin said.
