Murder, prison drug trafficking trials top trial docket’s second week

Potential jurors return Monday to the Comanche County Courthouse for the second week of a four-week felony jury trial docket.

Topping the week’s cases is a 2022 trial for a man accused of committing a killing over a perceived slight from a joke about a stolen lighter that led to Ian Martinez being shot in the neck and killed.

Jury selection will begin Monday in Comanche County Chief District Judge Grant Sheperd’s courtroom where John Benge Bourne, 35, of Lawton, will be on trial for felony counts of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm after former felony conviction.

Several people were at Martinez’s home at 219 SW 23rd Place the night of April 10, 2022, while he received a tattoo, according to investigator. After seeing his blue torch lighter in one woman’s possession, she said Bourne had stolen it earlier, the probable cause affidavit states. Martinez and another man called Bourne to joke with him about it, saying they’d “slapped around” the woman because of the lighter until she said Bourne took it.

The woman told investigators she told Bourne that she was OK but he remained upset, according to the affidavit.

A short time later, banging was heard at the front door and witnesses said Bourne announced he was outside. He came in, and was described as being visibly upset when he pointed a handgun at Martinez, the affidavit states. Bourne turned to leave the home and witnesses said Martinez reached for the gun.

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.

On Friday, potential jurors will begin the selection process for the trial of a man accused of trying to get contraband, including more than 17 ounces of methamphetamine, into the Lawton Correctional Facility.

Nickelus Edward Smith, 31, of Okmulgee, will begin trial in Sheperd’s court for a felony count of aggravated trafficking in illegal drugs after former felony convictions, records indicate. He faces up to 40 years behind bars if convicted due to two prior felony convictions.

Smith was arrested in September 2022 following the report of a man trespassing on the prison property, 8607 SE Flower Mound. He was found walking near a prison-owned home, the probable cause affidavit. He was clad in black clothes and investigators said he appeared to hide in the grass or trees when vehicles approached. Oklahoma Department of Corrections Agent Travis Crawford stated he found Smith about a half mile north of the prison with fresh abrasions and cuts near his ankles and lower legs. Smith said he’d been in an argument with his girlfriend and claimed he got out of a vehicle to walk around and had fallen asleep on a hill farther south. Smith told Crawford he’d just gotten out of Lawton Correctional Facility about a month ago.

A net bag was discovered near the northeast corner of the prison containing 77 grams of marijuana, 1,765 grams of raw tobacco, six cellphones, a pair of earbuds and eight cellphone charging cables, according to the affidavit. Another corrections officer identified it as a bag Smith was seen carrying earlier.

Smith told investigators he was being paid $500 by an inmate at the prison to provide the contraband. He said he’d left eight packages wrapped in black and camouflage tape near the home but claimed he didn’t know what was inside, the affidavit states. He said a Native American took him to make the drop off and claimed he saw two other people doing the same thing. He said they got two of the packages hung up on the prison’s fence.

The two bags were concealed by shrubs in the grass. One bag contained three packages wrapped in camouflage tape and another had four packages wrapped in black tape. Inside the first bag’s packages were 250 total grams of marijuana along with two pounds of tobacco, several cellphones, chargers, earbuds and six grams of methamphetamine, as well as screwdrivers, razor blades and lighters, the affidavit states.

More cellphones and contraband were found in the second package along with a vacuum-sealed bag containing 466 grams (16.45 ounces) of meth, another with 188 grams of meth, and the third with 1,055 grams of meth, as well as over 450 grams of marijuana, several packs of rolling papers and packs of cigarettes, according to the affidavit. Smith’s cellphone also was found in the grass.

Smith’s two prior felony convictions are from Okmulgee County from April 2015 for possession of a sawed-off shotgun and forcible sodomy, records indicate.