Murder suspect’s mother wanted for accessory allegations

The mother of a homicide suspect is wanted for being an accessory after the fact.

An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday in Comanche County District Court for Tawanna Rochelle Richardson, 45, of Lawton, for a count of accessory to a felony, records indicate. The crime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Her son, Tawann Dupree Richardson, a.k.a. Pooh Butt, 23, is accused of shooting and killing Clayton Stephens and leaving him on the side of the road at Southwest 38th Street and Coombs Road the morning of April 9, Easter Sunday. The two men had been in a sexual relationship, according to the arrest warrant.

According to the mother’s arrest warrant affidavit, Tawann Richardson admitted to Lawton Police Detective Abe Woelfel that he shot Stephens where the body was recovered while seated inside a Chrysler Pacifica after the victim threatened to expose their relationship. Later, he said he parked the vehicle at his girlfriend’s home in the garage and removed the bloody seat cover and put it in her trash can.

The mother is accused of going over to the girlfriend’s home and removing the seat cover from the trash after Tawann Richardson asked her to go there and recover his items, the affidavit states. It was learned that Tawanna Richardson and her son were together in Vernon, Texas, the night of April 9, Woelfel stated.

A first-degree murder warrant was issued April 14 and Tawann Richardson was taken into custody near Phoenix, Ariz., following a high-speed pursuit. His charges also include unlawful removal of a dead body and possession of a firearm after former felony conviction.

On April 15, according to emergency radio transmission, Tawanna Richardson had told Wichita Falls, Texas, police her son was on his way to turn himself in and was last seen driving north on Interstate 44 in a black Toyota Camry.

Richardson has two prior felony convictions: Comanche County from 2018 after pleading guilty to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and he received a 10-year suspended sentence; and Wichita County, Texas, from 2018 for aggravated robbery. At the time of Stephens’ killing, Richardson was wanted for a probation violation for the Texas case.

Stephens’ death is the city’s seventh by homicide this year, according to Constitution records.

Tawann Richardson is in the Comanche County Detention Center on $1 million bond. He returns to court at 3 p.m. Aug. 8 for his preliminary hearing conference.

A $100,000 cash warrant bond was issued upon the arrest of Tawanna Richardson.