2022 murder suspect bound over for trial

A Lawton man was bound over for trial for December 2022 killing of Shane Chokpoyah.

On Tuesday, following his preliminary hearing before Comanche County Special District Judge Susan Zwaan, Joshua Andrew Smith, 25, was found over for felony charges of second-degree murder, unlawful removal of a dead body and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, records indicate. He made his initial appearance Jan. 25, 2023, in Comanche County District Court for the charges.

Lawton Police officers discovered the body of Chockpoyah, 48, around 1 p.m. Dec. 31, 2022, at 706 SW Monroe. Chockpoyah was found lying on his back in a pink and white comforter with a Native American blanket over him. He had scratches to his right cheek and jaw area and ligature marks on his neck and a black power cord wrapped around it, the probable cause affidavit states.

Chockpoyah had last had contact with his family on Christmas Day 2023. He was in his parents’ Nissan Pathfinder when he went missing. GPS helped located the unoccupied Nissan at 2801 NW Morningside Drive, where it was recovered, the affidavit states.

A witness told investigators the Nissan had been seen backed into a space at the Deluxe Inn, 1709 Cache Road with a “skinny white male with blonde hair” in the passenger seat and a heavy set dark-skinned female in the driver’s seat, according to the affidavit.

A Family Dollar receipt dated for Dec. 25, 2022, led investigators to the store and its surveillance videos. Video showed Smith walk into the store before leaving in the Nissan.

Chockpoyah frequented the Apache Casino and from its security video images of Smith and another woman arriving that same day. The woman told police she’d ridden to and from the casino with Chockpoyah and Smith. Later that morning, Chockpoyah showed up at a friend’s home around 1:30 or 2 a.m.

Smith’s girlfriend, Savonda Wilson, told investigators that a few days before Christmas Smith had come to her home with Chockpoyah in the Nissan and he’d told her he was “going to get that car, it’s going to be mine,” according to the affidavit. Smith and Chockpoyah left for the casino and later, she said, Smith returned alone with the Nissan. He said he’d killed the older man and dumped his body near Monroe Avenue, she said.

Wilson, 27, of Lawton, was charged Sept. 16 with counts of second-degree murder and unlawful removal of a dead body, records indicate. She is being held on $100,000 bond.

Wilson’s charges follow the May return of Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) DNA analysis of evidence showed her DNA was found on multiple items recovered from the scene, according to the affidavit.

Smith remains held on $100,000 bond. He returns to court at 9 a.m. Dec. 18 for his formal arraignment.