Murder trial tops second week of jury docket

On Monday, Comanche County jurors will begin selection for the trial of a Lawton man accused of a 2022 killing.

John Benge Bourne, 35, is slated to begin jury selection Monday in Comanche County Chief District Judge Grant Sheperd’s courtroom for felony counts of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm after former felony conviction.

Bourne is accused of shooting and killing Ian Martinez during an incident witnesses described as being over a perceived slight from a joke about a stolen lighter the night of April 10, 2022.

Investigators believe Bourne pulled the trigger, striking Martinez in the neck with a bullet, according to the affidavit. Witnesses said Bourne fled in his vehicle while Martinez collapsed, dying in his front yard.

Bourne has prior felony convictions: South Carolina jurisdiction, November 2012, second-degree burglary; and Comanche County, February 2019, convicted felons prohibited from carrying firearms, according to Oklahoma Department of Corrections records.

The trial had been scheduled for the April jury trial docket but a conflict of schedules for the State Medical Examiner led to it being continued.

Bourne has been in jail on $500,000 bond since April 13, 2022, records indicate.

In another high-profile case, an apartment maintenance man already found guilty of sexual battery of a tenant will stand trial beginning Monday for allegations of sexually assaulting a co-worker and a tenant.

Detravius Jarelle Bell, 41, of Lawton, will be on trial in District Judge Jay Walker’s court for counts of forcible sodomy, rape by instrumentation and first-degree rape by force or fear, records indicate.

The forcible sodomy case stems from a co-worker’s allegations that between October 2019 and Aug. 31, 2021, Bell had forced her to perform oral sex on him at least once, according to the charge. She said over the prior two years, Bell had badgered and tried to force her to do sexual acts for so long she “felt like she had no choice,” according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

She told investigators he often would approach her while she was alone cleaning an empty apartment. She said on at least three occasions, Bell forced himself on her, to include sexual intercourse.

The woman said she was afraid to tell anyone because she feared “no one would believe her,” the affidavit states. She told investigators she was ready to come forward after learning a tenant at the apartments had a similar accusation against Bell.

The tenant’s allegations resulted in the sexual battery charge.

According to the affidavit, Bell made a sexual comment to her while she was standing on her balcony with her roommate and he was sitting in a golf cart below her.

While home alone later that same day, the woman said Bell came over and said he was going to fix a damaged ceiling in her apartment. After he finished, she said he walked up behind her while she was in the kitchen and grabbed her buttocks before fondling her inappropriately, the affidavit states.

The apartment complex has not been identified in court records.

Following a non-jury trial in June 2023, Bell was found guilty by District Judge Scott D. Meaders of a felony count of sexual battery in a separate case. He was sentenced to five years with the Department of Corrections with one year to serve and four years suspended.

On Friday, a Lawton Correctional Facility inmate will stand trial for allegations he had a hidden shank in his cell.

Floyd H. Jump Jr., 56, will begin trial in Walker’s courtroom for a felony count of possession of contraband in prison, records indicate.

Jump is accused of having a 7-inch shank hidden under his mattress during an April 25, 2022, cell check. Prison investigators went to Jump and another inmate’s cell after receiving information they had contraband, the probable cause affidavit states.

A small amount of marijuana and 4.86 grams of methamphetamine were found on Jump as well as a cellphone during a strip search, according to investigators. At one point, Jump moved away from officers and tried to give it to his cell mate when officers used a chemical agent to take them under control, according to the affidavit.

Jump has a lengthy conviction record: Pittsburg County, April 1985, grand larceny; McClain County, October 1993, aggravated assault and battery on a police officer, DUI, liquor or drugs — second and subsequent; October 1996, first-degree burglary; January 1997, escape after lawful arrest; December 2015, assault and battery on a police officer; Oklahoma County, October 1992, second-degree forgery; November 1995, escape from confinement; and Kay County, May 1996, false personation, records indicate.