logo
An OKC police officer who fatally shot a rape suspect will not be charged, grand jury says

An OKC police officer who fatally shot a rape suspect will not be charged, grand jury says

Yahoo18-07-2025
(Editor's note: This article contains mentions of sexual assault that some readers may find disturbing.)
The Oklahoma County grand jury decided against formally indicting an Oklahoma City police officer in the fatal shooting of a 40-year-old man accused of rape earlier this summer.
Jurors concluded that the use-of-force case involving OKC police Sgt. Justin Kuehn was a "no bill," meaning they didn't believe the officer should face charges, according a news release sent Tuesday, July 15, from the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office.
On June 4, police were serving a sex crimes-related search warrant for Jose Antonio Martinez in the 5200 block of Evanbrook Terrace. According to a redacted report from an arresting officer, Martinez exited the house and fled southbound on foot. The report also states that "an officer later confronted (Martinez) in an open field north of the house."
That officer, Sgt. Kuehn, found Martinez after the suspect had "tossed his gun over a fence and hopped over," according to the district attorney's news release. Police also said Kuehn ordered Martinez to stop, but Martinez ignored Kuehn's commands and reached down to pick up the firearm. The accompanying officer's police report said that Kuehn then fired his service weapon, striking and killing Martinez.
More: OKC police officer shoots, kills man during confrontation while trying to serve warrant
At the time of the shooting, investigators had been searching for Martinez for more than a week after arrest warrants were issued for him on three counts of first-degree rape and one count of forcible oral sodomy.
According to an arrest affidavit dated May 27, Martinez was accused of raping both his wife and his daughter's 17-year-old best friend.
Court records show a protective order from the wife against Martinez had been issued in April but was dismissed in early May after his wife failed to appear in court.
The grand jury heard from three detectives and viewed 16 exhibits, including body-worn camera footage, photographs from the site of the shooting and a recorded interview with Sgt. Kuehn, according to the DA's news release. Detectives also testified about the basis of the warrants for Martinez and the investigation into the case against him, the district attorney's office said.
The news release said that the grand jury did not believe a use-of-force expert would have helped in their deliberations.
Martinez had previously been convicted of felony cases from 2013 and 2019, including possession of a controlled dangerous substance, domestic assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm after felony conviction.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC officer not indicted after fatal police shooting of rape suspect
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Lauren Boebert's son charged with child abuse in incident she described as a ‘miscommunication'
Lauren Boebert's son charged with child abuse in incident she described as a ‘miscommunication'

Yahoo

time8 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Lauren Boebert's son charged with child abuse in incident she described as a ‘miscommunication'

Rep. Lauren Boebert's son has been charged with child abuse following an incident involving her grandson that she described as a 'miscommunication.' Tyler Boebert, 20, the eldest son of the MAGA congresswoman, was cited for criminal negligence where no death or injury occurred, which is a misdemeanor, for the July 11 incident, according to Windsor Police Department records obtained by Denver Westword. Authorities have not yet shared details about the incident, which the 38-year-old congresswoman brushed off as 'a miscommunication on monitoring my young grandson that recently led to him getting out of the house.' In a statement, the congresswoman described her son's legal trouble as a 'one-time incident,' noting there was 'no injury or physical abuse involved.' Child Protective Services met with the family, the congresswoman added. It's not the first run-in with the law for the congresswoman's 20-year-old son, whose girlfriend became pregnant with his child when he was just 17 years old. In September of 2022, Tyler Boebert flipped his father's SUV into a creek, leaving the person in his passenger seat with multiple concussions and a severely lacerated hand. He was ticketed for careless driving. The case was eventually dropped down to a 'defective vehicle for headlights' ticket under a plea deal. Then, in January 2024, he called the police to report that his father, Jayson, was assaulting him, leading to his arrest. During the incident, Jayson allegedly 'pushed Tyler to the ground and pushed his thumb into his mouth,' according to the arrest affidavit. A month later, Tyler was slapped with more than a dozen felony charges for a series of thefts from vehicles – and for using stolen credit cards at local gas stations. Tyler Boebert pleaded guilty last October to a single charge of attempting to commit identity theft and was given a two-year deferred judgment, allowing his felony to be cleared from his record after completing his 24-month probation term. He was required to complete 80 hours of community service and was banned from using controlled substances. It was not immediately clear whether the most recent citation would be a breach of his probation. He is due in Weld County Court on September 8. Lauren Boebert did not immediately return The Independent's request for comment.

Hundreds demonstrate in protest-hit UK town
Hundreds demonstrate in protest-hit UK town

Yahoo

time8 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Hundreds demonstrate in protest-hit UK town

Hundreds of demonstrators from rival groups marched through a UK town on Sunday under tight police security amid tensions over anti-immigrant protests. It was the latest in a series of demonstrations in Epping, northeast of London, after an asylum seeker was charged earlier in July with three counts of sexual assault, including allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. But only about 400 people from rival groups demonstrated in the town, as police put in place a tight security operation, erecting barricades to keep them apart and banning the wearing of masks. Essex police said they had "a robust policing operation in place to protect our community and to deal swiftly with anyone intent on causing crime or violent disorder". Protestors gathered outside the Bell Hotel in the town, which has been used to house asylum seekers and refugees, despite pleas from the local council to close it down. "They're a threat. They don't know who they are, who they're allowing in these hotels, and basically they're putting everybody at danger", one protester, who identified herself only as Cathy, told AFP. There was also a counter-protest by the organisation Stand Up To Racism, who chanted "refugees are welcome here' and "Whose streets? Our streets". Three people were arrested Sunday but the protest went off "peacefully," Essex police said in a statement. The issue of thousands of irregular migrants arriving in small boats across the Channel, coupled with the UK's worsening economy, has triggered rising anger among some Britons. Such sentiments have been amplified by inflammatory messaging on social networks, fuelled by far-right activists. Almost exactly a year ago on July 29, 2024, three young girls were stabbed to death in a frenzied attack in northwestern Southport. The shocking killings stoked days of riots across the country after false reports that the killer -- a UK-born teenager whose family came to the country from Rwanda after the 1994 genocide -- was a migrant. Nearly 24,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the Channel so far in 2025, the highest-ever tally at this point in a year. vid-jkb/pdh/jj

Trump's CIA chief teases critical new evidence in long-running Russiagate 'hoax'
Trump's CIA chief teases critical new evidence in long-running Russiagate 'hoax'

Fox News

time10 minutes ago

  • Fox News

Trump's CIA chief teases critical new evidence in long-running Russiagate 'hoax'

CIA Director John Ratcliffe suggested Sunday that the statute of limitations would not likely interfere with prosecutions against key figures implicated in Russiagate, telling "Sunday Morning Futures" host Maria Bartiromo that some testimonies that propelled the Trump-Russia collusion narrative occurred within the last five years. He also hinted at more evidence to come. "John Brennan testified to John Durham in August of 2020. He also testified to the House Oversight Committee in 2022. Hillary Clinton testified before John Durham under oath in 2022. James Comey testified before the Senate Committee in September 2020. "All of that's within the last five years and much of that testimony is frankly completely inconsistent with what our underlying intelligence that is about to be declassified in the Durham Annex [reflects]," he said, teasing the release of the "classified annex" of the John Durham report. Ratcliffe said that intelligence will showcase intent to accelerate the Steele Dossier into intelligence community assessments and as the basis for Crossfire Hurricane. The "Steele Dossier" was authored by ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and was funded by Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee through the law firm Perkins Coie. Bartiromo pressed on, asking Ratcliffe to clarify whether there is still an opportunity for indictments, potential prosecutions and "accountability" for Brennan, Comey and Clinton, to which he replied, "That's why I've made the referrals that I have." "DNI Gabbard has made referrals. And we're going to continue to share the intelligence that would support the ability of our Department of Justice to bring fair and just claims against those who have perpetrated this hoax against the American people and this stain on our country." A spokesperson for Clinton did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment in time for publication. Comey and Brennan did not respond to Fox News Digital's prior requests for comment regarding the Trump administration's accusations. Former prosecutor Andy McCarthy told Fox News last week that following through on legal action against former President Barack Obama, who was also mentioned by name in the accusations brought forth by the Trump administration, would be a tall order. "The scandal here... is they had a legitimate reason to investigate Russia's meddling in the election and what they did was they used that as a pretext to basically investigate Trump to spy on his presidency and to try to make him an ineffective president," McCarthy told "Fox & Friends" last Thursday. "That's why it's a terrible political dirty trick," he continued. "The issue again is… is it prosecutable? And I just don't see it." Former President Obama dismissed the Trump administration's claims with a statement. Congressional Democrats have also railed against the claims. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, for instance, criticized Gabbard's claims as "baseless." Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, accused Gabbard of "weaponizing her position to amplify the president's election conspiracy theories."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store