a Oklahoma sitting judge He currently faces charges in connection with two separate drive-by shootings in 2023, one of which occurred at a ranch owned by his brother-in-law.
Just before 3:30 p.m. on February 12, 2023, a car pulled up to a bison ranch in Oklahoma, about 120 miles north of Oklahoma City, and shots were fired. The owner of the ranch, Kenneth Marks, claimed that a bullet went through his home. cause damage On the windows, on the walls, on the oven. One bullet and five empty .40 caliber shell casings were later recovered from the scene.However mark’s son Apparently he was at home at the time, but fortunately no one was injured.
“When you see someone in the window and they’re gone within inches, it’s not just a random shooting.”
Two days after the shooting, Marks’ brother-in-law Brian Lovell A 59-year-old associate judge in Garfield County, Oklahoma, reported that a firearm was stolen from his vehicle.
Seven months later, on the afternoon of September 11, a man driving a white SUV near the intersection of Matamoros Avenue and Santa Maria Avenue in Austin, Texas, suddenly pointed a weapon and fired at another vehicle. I started. One witness described the suspect as a “white male wearing a baseball cap and a gray shirt.”
The man allegedly fired at least five shots, and police found “several vehicles with defective projectiles,” according to the affidavit. Three .40 caliber shell casings were subsequently recovered from the scene.
After about an hour, Judge Brian Lovell The man was arrested less than three miles from the intersection where the shooting occurred after his white SUV with Oklahoma plates allegedly rear-ended another vehicle twice.
“The SUV was being driven by a white male wearing a baseball cap and gray shirt, identified by his Oklahoma driver’s license as Brian Noel Lovell,” the affidavit states. Police also found “a black firearm located on the passenger floorboard of Lovell’s SUV.”
Lovell reportedly admitted to rear-ending the woman’s car twice, but denied intentionally rear-ending her. When police asked him about the shooting earlier that afternoon, his mind seemed blank. “Mr. Lovell advised that he did not know why he fired the gun and that he could not remember the entire shooting incident,” his affidavit said.
No one was injured in the shooting or minor car accident in Austin.
In November, two months after the Austin shooting and nine months after the shooting at Marks’ ranch, ballistics testing revealed that the same gun, a Glock 23 .40 caliber, was used in both incidents.
In February 2024, Lovell was arrested and charged with eight felony counts of discharging a firearm resulting in death in connection with the Austin shooting. He was issued a $10,000 bond, and upon proper payment he would be released. He has scheduled a hearing in the case for June.
On Friday, Lovell was charged with a felony count of using a vehicle to facilitate the discharge of a firearm and another felony count of discharging a firearm into a dwelling in connection with the shooting at Marks’ home. Mr. Lovell did not enter a plea, so the court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. He was placed on $25,000 bail and released on the condition that he avoid Marks, his family, and all firearms.
Lovell’s Oklahoma attorney, Stephen Jones, believes Lovell was wrongly accused. “It took a long time for the indictment to be returned and it affected him and his family. But he is a strong character,” Jones said. “And in my opinion, he is innocent.”
Jones also argued that Lovell’s defense intends to “attack the jurisdiction and integrity of the prosecution.” “Based on our own investigation, there is insufficient evidence to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt,” Jones argued.
Mr. Marks didn’t seem too convinced of his brother-in-law’s innocence. “I had no idea it was Brian Lovell,” Marks said. “When you see someone in the window and they’re gone within inches, it’s not just a random shooting.”
Lovell is facing a court hearing in connection with a shooting at Mark’s Ranch in late August. Garfield County District Judge Paul Woodward previously argued that Lovell had agreed not to hear the case until it was fully adjudicated.
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