LAWTON – Comanche County District 1 County Commissioner John Donavon O’Brien was suspended from office May 7 after a multicounty grand jury recommended his ouster.
The 20th Oklahoma Multicounty Grand Jury presented an accusation seeking O’Brien’s immediate removal as a county commissioner “pending trial on the accusation for removal” that stemmed from five criminal charges filed against him here on March 13.
District Judge Emmit Tayloe signed the suspension order, “it appearing to the Court from the allegations presented … that there is sufficient and good cause for the immediate suspension” of O’Brien from office “until final determination of this matter.”
O’Brien was quickly locked out of the county courthouse and efforts were made to retrieve his county- owned pickup and mobile phone.
He had been in off ice for only 16 months. O’Brien defeated Gail Turner, the District 1 county commissioner for 24 years, in the August 2022 runoff election and received the oath of office on Dec. 30, 2022.
District 1’s first deputy, Ashley Sanders, will perform O’Brien’s commissioner duties until his legal matters are resolved.
A hearing on the O’Brien ouster petition is set for 11:30 a.m. May 20 in Comanche County District Court before Judge Scott D. Meaders.
It marked the second time in 47 days that a southwestern Oklahoma county commissioner was removed from office prematurely because of criminal charges.
Micah Lee Woods, 63, of Walters, resigned as a Cotton County commissioner on March 37. At that time he was facing trials in April on a 20th Multicounty Grand Jury’s accusations of oppression in office and corruption, and on a Cotton County felony charge of embezzlement.
The grand jury alleged that in June 2022, Woods used county employees during work hours, and in the Cotton County District 1 barn in Walters, “to build campaign signs for his personal use” for his reelection campaign in November 2022.
Five criminal charges filed against O’Brien O’Brien, 55, of Elgin, is named in two felony embezzlement charges and three misdemeanor offenses in state district court. A preliminary hearing on those charges is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on June 4 before Comanche County District Judge Grant Sheperd.
One embezzlement charge accuses O’Brien of using county-provided cell phone service to make unauthorized personal calls “and/or sending text messages personal in nature” between January 2023, when he succeeded Turner as the Eastern District county commissioner, and June 2023.
The other embezzlement charge alleges O’Brien used a county- provided pickup truck to drive to his doctors’ appointments in Oklahoma City “and/or by hauling equipment for personal use,” and by using a county-acquired PikePass during the trips to Oklahoma City.
A misdemeanor charge of computer crime accuses O’Brien of using a computer to “annoy and/or harass” a female former District 1 employee by sending explicit sexual text messages to the woman between February 1 and July 1, 2023.
O’Brien also is named in two misdemeanor counts of outraging public decency by firing District 1 employees Mallory Geiger and road foreman Kenny Curry, 63, who had worked for District 1 for 24 years when O’Brien let him go on July 31, 2023.
Those five criminal charges resulted in three multicounty grand jury accusations calling for O’Brien’s removal from office.
• Oppression in Office. This count accuses O’Brien of “inappropriate and unprofessional comments and messages” to a former District 1 female employee, and firing District 1 employees Mallory Geiger, Kenneth Curry and Ronald “Tyler” Fletcher after they participated in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s criminal probe of the county commissioner.
• Corruption in Office. This included two counts of embezzlement, violation of the computer crimes act, and two counts of outraging public decency.
O’Brien is accused of embezzlement, by using a county-furnished cell phone to make personal calls and/or send text messages “personal in nature” that were not authorized by Comanche County nor “for the use and/or benefit of Comanche County…” The second embezzlement count accused O’Brien of using his county-provided pickup to drive to “personal doctor’s appointments” and/or to haul “equipment for personal use,” and “utilizing the Pike-Pass assigned to that vehicle “for personal use.”
He is accused of using a computer to “annoy and/or harass” the female District 1 employee “by sending sexually explicit messages” to her.
The two counts of outraging public decency accuse O’Brien of terminating the employment of Geiger and Curry after they cooperated with the OSBI’s “criminal investigation into this matter.”
• Willful Maladministration. This accusation encompasses all five of the criminal offenses O’Brien is charged with.
O’Brien investigated by OSBI agent Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent Alfredo Solis swore in an affidavit for an arrest warrant that he interviewed O’Brien and the commissioner admitted he committed at least two crimes. Solis wrote that O’Brien:
• “Stated he used his county-issued cellphone to send sexual text messages to a female employee who worked in his office.” Screenshots from the woman’s telephone showed some of those text messages, including one that was sexually explicit.
• Admitted he used his county-issued pickup equipped with a Pike-Pass to drive to Oklahoma City “for multiple doctor appointments and to transport rented equipment to his residence for personal use.”
O’Brien wrote a personal check for $1,093.07 to Comanche County on July 13, 2023, Solis related. A memo submitted with the check “showed the money was for trips taken to Oklahoma City and other locations where O’Brien used his county vehicle” for personal reasons and during business hours, the investigator wrote.
Solis also wrote that O’Brien fired three employees who worked at the District 1 barn. “All three employees had previously interviewed with Solis about O’Brien misusing county equipment,” and all three said O’Brien was aware that they had spoken to OSBI agents.
O’Brien said all three employees were fired because “they were not a good fit for the office,” Solis wrote in his affidavit.
The maximum punishment for each embezzlement charge is one to ten years in prison and a fine equal to triple the amount of money allegedly embezzled, plus restitution. Conviction on each of the misdemeanor charges is punishable by a fine of up to $500 or inca rceration in the Comanche County jail for up to one year.
Criminal charges were filed March 13 by Special Prosecutor Jason Hicks, district attorney for District 6. The District 5 D.A., Kyle Cabelka, recused himself from the case because he is the leg al adviser for Comanche County officers. The office of Attorney General Gentner Drummond lateraled the matter to Hicks, the chief prosecutor for Stephens, Grady, Jefferson and Caddo counties.
Assistant District Attorney Charles Sifers from Duncan urged the court to set bond for O’Brien at $5,000.
Lawton attorney John Zelbst responded that O’Brien has exhibited a “lifelong dedication to the citizens of this county” and is a U.S. Army veteran. The purpose of setting a bond is “to ensure attendance at court hearings,” he said. Zelbst urged the court to release O’Brien on his own recognizance.
Special District Judge Christine Galbraith split the difference, setting bail at $2,500 cash, property or surety. She scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for 3:30 p.m. June 4.