Latest news with #TulsaCounty
CTV News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Oklahoma executes a man who was transferred from federal custody by Trump officials
This March 4, 2025, photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows John Fitzgerald Hanson. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP,File) McALESTER, Okla. — Oklahoma executed a man Thursday whose transfer to state custody was expedited by the Trump administration. John Fitzgerald Hanson, 61, received a three-drug lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was pronounced dead at 10:11 a.m., prison officials said. Hanson was sentenced to die after he was convicted of carjacking, kidnapping and killing a Tulsa woman in 1999. 'Peace to everyone,' Hanson said while strapped to a gurney inside the prison's death chamber. The execution began at 10:01 a.m. After the lethal drugs began to flow, a doctor entered the death chamber at 10:06 a.m. and declared him unconscious. Hanson, whose name in some federal court records is George John Hanson, had been serving a life sentence in federal prison in Louisiana for several unrelated federal convictions. Federal officials transferred him to Oklahoma custody in March to follow through on President Donald Trump's sweeping executive order to more actively support the death penalty. Hanson's attorneys argued in a last-minute appeal that he did not receive a fair clemency hearing last month, claiming that one of the board members who denied him clemency was biased because he worked for the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office when Hanson was prosecuted. A district court judge this week issued a temporary stay halting the execution, but that was later vacated. Prosecutors alleged Hanson and accomplice, Victor Miller, kidnapped Mary Bowles from a Tulsa shopping mall. Prosecutors alleged the pair drove Bowles to a gravel pit near Owasso, where Miller shot and killed property owner Jerald Thurman. The two then drove Bowles a short distance away, where Hanson shot and killed Bowles, according to prosecutors. Miller received a no-parole life prison sentence for his role in the crimes. Thurman's son, Jacob Thurman, witnessed Thursday's execution and said it was the culmination of 'the longest nightmare of our lives.' 'All families lose in this situation,' he said. 'No one's a winner.' Bowles' niece, Sara Mooney, expressed frustration at the litigation over Hanson's death sentence that dragged on for decades, calling it an 'expensive and ridiculous exercise.' 'Capital punishment is not an effective form of justice when it takes 26 years,' she said. During last month's clemency hearing, Hanson expressed remorse for his involvement in the crimes and apologized to the victims' families. 'I'm not an evil person,' Hanson said via a video link from the prison. 'I was caught in a situation I couldn't control. I can't change the past, but I would if I could.' Hanson's attorneys acknowledged he participated in the kidnapping and carjacking, but said there was no definitive evidence that he shot and killed Bowles. They painted Hanson as a troubled youth with autism and who was controlled and manipulated by the domineering Miller. Both Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and his predecessor, John O'Connor, had sought Hanson's transfer during President Joe Biden's administration, but the U.S. Bureau of Prisons denied it, saying the transfer was not in the public interest. Sean Murphy, The Associated Press
National Post
12-05-2025
- National Post
Chiefs superfan 'ChiefsAholic' sentenced to 32 years in Oklahoma prison
Article content TULSA, Okla. — A Kansas City Chiefs superfan known as 'ChiefsAholic' was sentenced Monday in an Oklahoma courtroom to serve 32 years in state prison for robbing a Tulsa-area bank, a sentence that will be carried out after he finishes serving time in federal prison. Article content Article content Xaviar Babudar, 30, appeared in a Tulsa courtroom and apologized to the court and to the victims of the December 2022 robbery of the Tulsa Teachers Credit Union in Bixby, Oklahoma, said Babudar's attorney, Jay-Michael Swab. Article content 'He expressed sincere remorse and took full responsibility for his actions,' Swab said. Article content Babudar already was serving more than 17 years in federal prison for a string of 11 bank robberies across seven states where he stole nearly $850,000 to finance his social media stardom. Swab said the robberies also were the result of a gambling addiction. Article content Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler had sought life in prison for Babudar. Article content 'He is a serial robber who traumatized these victims and numerous other victims across this country,' Kunzweiler said in a statement. Article content Tulsa County District Judge Michelle Keely ordered Babudar's 32-year sentence to run concurrently to his federal sentence, which means after he is released from federal prison he will be transferred to state custody to serve his remaining 14 years. Article content
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Kansas City Chiefs superfan Xaviar Babudar sentenced to 32 years in jail for bank robbery rampage
The infamous Kansas City Chiefs superfan known as 'ChiefsAholic' has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for a brazen bank robbery rampage across seven US states. Xaviar Babudar, 30, who was often seen in a wolf costume at Chiefs games across America, had already been sentenced to 17-and-a-half years of jail time without parole last September. But the Tulsa County district attorney's office sought a longer sentence and he was today sentenced in an Oklahoma courtroom to 32 years behind bars. At the start of last year, Babudar pled guilty to charges of money laundering, transporting stolen property across state lines, and bank robbery back in February. He was charged with robbing banks in seven states from 2022 to 2023, which his attorney says was fueled by a gambling addiction and troubled childhood that left him homeless. Tulsa County district attorney Steve Kunzweiler said of the initial sentence: 'It was offensive to me that a serial robber could victimize as many hard-working Americans as this guy did all across the country and only receive 17½ years from the federal government. 'My preference was for him to serve the rest of his life in prison. He caught another break today, but at least he's going to be serving some additional time, and my thoughts are with the victims who continue to be tormented by his violence.' Babudar's attorneys, meanwhile, expressed relief, noting: '[The prosecution] wanted him to die in prison. 'Our entire position from the beginning is that we want to live in a world where everybody's treated equally, not based on notoriety or social media presence.' As a part of his plea agreement at the original sentencing last September, Babudar will have to pay over $530,000 in restitution to the victims' financial institution. Adding insult to injury, he will also have to forfeit an autographed painting of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Back in November 2023, Babudar pled not guilty to robbing a Tulsa Teachers Credit union branch in Bixby, Oklahoma. He was accused of pointing a pistol at a bank teller and leaving with $150k in December 2022. He is known for wearing a wolf costume at games and posting regularly on social media He was arrested that month and was held in jail until February 2023 when he was released on bond. Babudar then cut his ankle monitor and went on the run for four months before being caught by the FBI in California. Officials were able to link him back to several other unsolved robberies in Nebraska, Iowa, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. In Iowa, specifically, Babudar was accused of stealing $70,000 from the Great Western Bank in Clive.
