Local & Regional

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thousands of illegal cellphones are making it into the hands of prison inmates who use the devices to commit crimes, but prison officials testified Monday that they're prohibited from using one of the best tools to stop it — jamming technology.

Prison officials from Oklahoma and South Carolina testified about the effectiveness of cellphone-jamming technology before an Oklahoma Senate committee. Federal law bans the use of such technology by state agencies, and it is opposed by the wireless industry.

Sunday night storms made for an extended trip for 47 passengers on a United airlines flight to Tulsa from Chicago.

Pilots couldn’t fly through the storm, and they didn’t have enough fuel to fly around it, forcing the plane to be diverted to Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.

The flight was due in Tulsa at 9:48 p.m. Sunday but landed in Arkansas at 10:17 p.m.

The diversion added to an already three-day journey home from Ethiopia for a group of missionaries led by Tulsa pastor Brad Carr. Carr said they were supposed to be on an earlier flight home from O'Hare.

Deer crashes are among the most deadly types of car crashes – not to mention expensive. Their mating season has started and deer-vehicle collisions are expected to start happening in droves. Mark Medeja of the Triple A Auto Club reminds drivers to use their brights and slow down. In the event of a collision taking place, drivers should not try to move the deer themselves. Instead, they should dial law enforcement at *55 and wait for assistance. 

Today, Tulsa County was designated by the Military Order of the Purple Heart as a Purple Heart County, becoming the first in Oklahoma to receive the designation, which serves to remember and recognize all Veterans, including those who are recipients of the Purple Heart Medal.

Last night’s storms caused damage in Wagoner County. Power lines were downed in Porter. Highway 51B was closed for several hours as utility crews made needed repairs.

To the east, trees were uprooted in the town of Wagoner.  One tree caused extensive damage to a home. Cars also were damaged by downed trees and flying debris.  Wagoner Fire Chief Kelly Grooms says there were no injuries in his town. 

  A manslaughter charge has been filed against an Oklahoma ambulance driver in connection with a 2017 crash that killed a patient he was transporting.

Oklahoma County court records indicate 35-year-old Matthew Erickson was charged on Thursday with first-degree manslaughter in connection with the deadly August 2017 crash.

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down Sunday night near Dallas Love Field before moving northeast through the city. The storm caused damage to homes and businesses, and knocked out electricity to tens of thousands people.

Crews searched Monday through the rubble of buildings torn apart by the tornado that ripped through the area late Sunday.

Tulsa gas prices have fallen 5.6 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.17/g today, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 321 stations. Gas prices in Tulsa are 8.7 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, yet stand 33.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

Students at the Bixby Central Elementary School will enjoy a Tuesday off. Classes at that campus will not take place tomorrow because the water will be shut off for a construction project.

Classes WILL be held in other Bixby Schools.

It was a stormy night across Oklahoma. Tornadoes were reported in Delaware County between Jay and Siloam Springs.  There is also significant damage in Wagoner County, near Porter, due to straight-line winds.

Lightning is to blame for a Tulsa apartment fire in Brookside at 41st and Peoria. A least two people left homeless there. 

Many people across the state are waking up without power. PSO, OG-&-E, as well as rural electric coops are addressing the problems. 

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Dallas on Sunday night, causing structural damage and knocking out electricity to thousands.

A county jail in northeastern Oklahoma has been evacuated and its more than 110 inmates relocated to other jails following an electrical fire.

The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office says the fire occurred around noon Saturday at the county jail in Miami.

The sheriff's office says the fire started in the ceiling between the kitchen and one of the jail's inmate cell pods. Officials say firefighters extinguished the fire quickly and that there were no injuries.

The Bearcats were going nowhere, and now their best running back was limping off the field, giving Gerrid Doaks the chance he'd long awaited.

The junior running back who's been beset by injuries took the game into his hands and kept the 21ST-ranked Bearcats unbeaten in the American Athletic. He ran for a pair of touchdowns and turned a short pass into a 28-yard score as Cincinnati held off Tulsa 24-13 on Saturday.

The potential for severe weather ramps up Tonight as thunderstorms develop in the vicinity of a cold front and sweep from west to east across eastern Oklahoma and western

University of Oklahoma officials say there were no injuries to riders of the school's "Sooner Schooner" or the horses that pull it when the miniature covered wagon tipped over during the Oklahoma-West Virginia football game.

The wagon pulled by two horses and carrying members of student spirit groups circles the field after Oklahoma scores. It was celebrating a second-quarter touchdown Saturday when it rolled onto its side while carrying three people.

A Texas man has pleaded guilty to theft, bribery and tax fraud charges in a scheme involving former Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief George Tiger related to work for the Wetumka-based Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town.

Court documents show 63-year-old Aaron Dewayne Terry of Wichita Falls signed a plea agreement Wednesday in federal court in Muskogee acknowledging his guilt. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dismissed eight similar charges.

It was tragically over in a matter of minutes. One person is dead in a high speed car crash in east Tulsa. The Tulsa Sheriff’s office was attempting to pull over a driver in a stolen pick-up truck last night when that driver sped away.

The deputy gave chase. The pick-up truck ran a stop light at 11th and 129th East Avenue. It slammed into a passenger car. The driver of that car was killed.

This all happened about 9:15 on Friday evening.  Three people in the pick-up were taken to the hospital. There is no word, as of this writing, on their conditions.

Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms will be possible this morning across northeast Oklahoma into western Arkansas as a cold front moves through the region. Patchy fog is expected to develop late Tonight across much of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas as low level moisture returns in advance of the next storm system. Thunderstorms are expected to develop across eastern Oklahoma Sunday evening as a cold front moves into the region. These thunderstorms will spread to east across the area through the night.

The last of three Alabama men charged in a fatal shooting in the Oklahoma Panhandle more than six years ago has pleaded guilty to murder in the case.

Court records show 25-year-old Timothy Dees of Mobile was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after pleading guilty Tuesday in Cimarron County District Court.

Dees, 29-year-old Zachary Wilson of Mobile and 33-year-old Jeremy Scott of Semmes were charged in the June 2013 shooting death of 77-year-old Charles Nieman of Alva during an attempted robbery at a convenience store in Boise City.

Oklahoma's unemployment rate held steady in September at 3.2%.

The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported Friday that the jobless rate was unchanged from August and below the national unemployment rate of 3.5%.

The commission reports an increase of 1,900 jobs in the education and health services sector and a gain of 900 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities.

The increases were offset by the losses of 1,500 jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry, and declines of 1,000 jobs in financial services and 700 in government.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has awarded over $273.4 million in grants to improve public safety, serve victims of crime, combat violence against women and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. In Oklahoma, 15 tribes and nations received in total $14,142,025.

Two people are dead and another person is hospitalized after a three car crash west of Bixby on 151st Street South. Upon arrival of Bixby Officers, it was determined there were  fatalities  in two of the cars.   Both drivers in the first two vehicles were pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the third vehicle was transported by EMSA to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

United States Attorney Trent Shores announced today the results of the October 2019 Federal Grand Jury B extended.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

The Bearcats need a win to maintain their edge in the American Athletic East. They knocked off two-time champion UCF and then won at Houston. They’ve won four in a row since a 42-0 loss at Ohio State, climbing back into the Top 25. Tulsa is looking to regain its footing after a 45-17 loss to Navy.

KEY MATCHUP

Kim Kardashian West has joined a chorus of voices calling for clemency for a black man on Oklahoma’s death row who has exhausted his appeals, arguing that a racist juror tainted the outcome of his 2002 trial.

Julius Jones was convicted of murder for the 1999 slaying of 45-year-old Paul Howell, who was fatally shot in the driveway of his parents’ home in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Freedom of speech and the freedom to gather clashed last night at Tulsa’s Veteran’s Park. A rally supporting President Trump’s fight to avoid impeachment was met with demonstrators denouncing the President and his policies.  

The anti-Trump demonstrators said they were upset about the President’s order to withdraw U.S. Troops from Kurdish areas of Syria. 

There was some pushing and shoving, especially after the anti-Trump faction unfurled an anti-fascist flag. The crowd dispersed peacefully.