FreeImages
A new set of jury trials is scheduled over the first two weeks in February at the Cleveland County District Courthouse.
Among the cases are a racketeering case involving four defendants and one case relating to lewd child molestation charges.
Racketeering trial
District Judge Michael Tupper will hear the racketeering case at 8:30 a.m. Monday. The case includes defendants Lawrence Lay Jr., 20, Marcus Larod Jackson, 22, and Dayven Devon Taylor, 20, all of Norman, and Juwan Thomas Square, 23, of Moore.
All of the defendants face conspiracy to commit racketeering.
A charge of racketeering and discharging a weapon into a dwelling were dismissed against Lay Jr. on Dec. 9, 2019.
Three people are accused of trafficking in Cleveland County over the weekend.
William Wesley Whitworth, William Dewan Howze and Dallas Elaine Navey, all of Shelby, are accused of trafficking liquid fentanyl, according to reports from the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators with vice and narcotics and the community interdiction teams stopped two vehicles on Saturday as part of the Sheriff’s Office’s ongoing crackdown on drugs.
Detectives allegedly found 682 grams of liquid fentanyl, 10 fentanyl pills, $834 and a firearm, between the two vehicles.
“The violence associated with drug dealing is also a huge concern of mine, and those dealers who possess guns during drug transactions will be a very high priority,” read a statement from Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman.
The Shelby Star
The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office credits tips that came in from the department’s mobile app with several recent arrests in larceny cases.
Four people accused of stealing items from various areas in the county were identified and found after the Sheriff’s Office received tips from residents via the app that was launched in June 2020.
“The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office app has been a great tool in helping us solve crime the past couple of weeks. We have had a tremendous amount of community support with requests for information or identification of individuals,” read a statement from the Sheriff’s Office.
By Jamie Berry | Transcript Staff Writer Jan 14, 2021
Jan 14, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic brought more than isolation to Norman residents, as local and county data shows that it also brought an increase in domestic violence cases.
According to data provided by the Cleveland County Courthouse, domestic violence crime filings â misdemeanors and felonies â increased 100% from 500 in 2019 to 1,000 in 2020.
According to data from District Judge Thad Balkman s courtroom, the following decisions were made on domestic assault and better cases throughout 2020:
Conviction, guilty plea: 31 in felonies, 7 in misdemeanors
Deferred, guilty plea: 9 in felonies, 7 in misdemeanors
convictions, Nolo contendre plea, 2 in felonies, 1 in misdemeanors
Deferred, Nolo contendre plea: 4 in felonies, 1 in misdemeanors
Lawndale man accused of plotting to kill roommate
Investigators say a Lawndale man conspired and attempted to kill his roommate for financial gain.
According to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, John Henry Carver lived at a home on Warlick Road with Ralph Hudson.
Carver, 45, was initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and his roommate was taken to the hospital where he was conscious and talking.
Investigators now say the violent act was not the result of an argument that got out of hand, rather a plan to kill Hudson and dispose of his body, according to Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman.