Doorbell camera identifies suspect in Stephens County murder case

DUNCAN — A doorbell camera and a cellphone GPS location helped investigators develop a suspect in a Stephens County homicide.

Officials began investigating after a pickup was found in a pond between Duncan and Velma on April 3. The driver was found dead of a gunshot wound. Investigators charged Charlus Terry Bishop, 74, of Comanche, with the death of the driver, Terry Sutton.

Bishop made his initial appearance Wednesday in Stephens County District Court where he was charged with a count of first-degree murder — deliberate intent, records indicate. The crime is punishable by life in prison, life without parole or the death penalty.

The investigation began shortly before 4 p.m. April 3 when a white Chevrolet pickup was discovered in a Stephens County pond. The driver, Sutton, was found dead from a bullet wound to his left arm that had entered his chest, the probable cause affidavit states.

Stephens County Sheriff’s Investigator Daniel Picazo stated evidence showed Sutton was shot by someone outside the vehicle while Sutton was sitting in the driver’s seat. Witnesses said Sutton’s truck was stopped at an intersection next to a black or brown truck and a single gunshot was heard before both vehicles sped off northbound, the affidavit states.

A doorbell camera at a Stephens County home showed Sutton’s truck driving north followed by a brown pickup southbound about 20 minutes later with Bishop speeding back, Picazo stated. Cellphone data put the two men in proximity at the time of the shooting at 3:13 p.m. April 3.

The cellphone data showed Bishop in the area of the shooting that day, although he denied it during questioning by investigators, according to Picazo. Data also showed Sutton was at a woman’s house when Sutton drove by a short time before the shooting, the affidavit states. Officials believe the motive for the shooting involved a woman both men had been involved with.

During questioning, Bishop said he’d been at the woman’s home and hadn’t left, Picazo stated. He admitted the truck shown in the doorbell camera was his. The cellphone data showed Bishop followed Sutton from the woman’s home to the intersection where the shooting occurred, according to the affidavit.

Bishop is in the Stephens County jail.