2023 murder, assault trials slated for Comanche County jury docket’s third week

A high-profile murder case against a Lawton rapper and the trial of a man accused of assaulting a Door Dash delivery driver will top the third week of the Comanche County felony jury trial docket.

All trials are subject to plea deals and continuation before their beginnings and may change.

On Wednesday, jury selection will begin in Comanche County District Judge Scott D. Meaders’ courtroom for the man accused of committing Lawton’s first homicide of 2023.

Christian Vance Lane Sr., 31, faces trial for counts of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm after former felony conviction in one case and endangering others while eluding/attempting to elude police, records indicate.

Lane is accused of shooting and killing Elijah Jones, 20, the morning of Jan. 17, 2023, in the parking lot of Aces & Eights Lounge, 1825 Cache Road. Jones was found bleeding from his neck and pronounced dead at the scene.

Lawton police viewed security video from the bar and identified Lane as the man who pulled the trigger. Lane’s counsel, Mark M. Myles, has contested investigators’ use of Geofencing that they claim placed him at the scene of the crime. An attempt to use the Brady Rule to suppress the data was unsuccessful in pre-trial motions.

On Jan. 24, 2023, Lane was arrested following a police chase that began in the parking lot of apartments at 2505 NW 82nd Street, according to the probable cause affidavit. A U.S. Marshal and Lawton police detectives were there to arrest him as the suspect in Jones’ death.

When law enforcement turned on their lights, Lane sped off, the affidavit states. A high-speed pursuit reaching up to 115 mph in wet conditions involved the Cotton County Sheriff’s Office and Oklahoma Highway Patrol before ending north of the Randlett exit, according to affidavit.

Related to the pursuit, Lane is scheduled to begin trial for a felony charge of endangering others while eluding/attempting to elude police on July 29, records indicate. He also is facing a pair of felony charges filed while in jail for conspiracy to commit bringing drugs into jail and possession of a cellphone in jail.

A rapper known as C-Lane and Golden Child, Lane’s defense has fought prosecution intentions of using his song lyrics as proof of character and bad acts during the trial.

Lane has prior Comanche County felony convictions from June 2011 for first-degree burglary; and September 2011, for three counts of second-degree burglary and possession of a firearm after delinquent adjudication, according to records.

Lane has been held on $1 million bond for his first-degree murder case and another $150,000 for the eluding charges since his initial court appearances on Jan. 27, 2023.