Slip opinions decided 2026 — Oklahoma Criminal Reports

¶1 Appellant, Wang Zou, was tried by the Court and convicted in the District Court of Craig County, Case No. CF-2022-91 of: Count 1, Cultivation of a Controlled Substance, in violation of 63 O.S.2021, § 2-509 ; Count 2, Trafficking in Illegal Drugs, in violation of 63 O.S.2021, § 2-415 (B); Count 3, Possession of CDS Without Tax Stamp, in violation of 68 O.S.2021, § 450.8 ; and Count 4, Maintaining a Place for Keeping or Selling Controlled Dangerous Substances, in violation of 63 O.S.2021, § 2-404 . The trial court found Appellant guilty on all counts and imposed sentences of five years imprisonment on Count 1, ten years imprisonment on Count 2, five years imprisonment on Count 3, and five years imprisonment on Count 4. The court suspended all sentences and ordered the sentences in Counts 1 and 2 to run consecutively and the sentences in Counts 3 and 4 to run concurrently.

¶1 Appellant, James Wesley Jacobs, Jr., was tried by jury and convicted in the District Court of Comanche County, Case No. CF-2021-172 of Count 1, First Degree Manslaughter, in violation of 21 O.S.2011, § 711 , and Count 2, Assault and Battery, in violation of 21 O.S.Supp.2019, § 644 (B). 1 The Honorable Grant Sheperd, District Judge, sentenced Appellant to forty years imprisonment and payment of a $10,000.00 fine on Count 1 and ninety days imprisonment on Count 2, in accordance with the jury's verdict.

¶1 The State of Oklahoma charged Appellee, Sergio Luevano, by amended Information in the District Court of Tulsa County, Case No. CF--2022--3090, with Assault and Battery With a Dangerous Weapon, in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 645 . 1 Luevano was bound over on this charge at preliminary hearing. The District Court thereafter held a pretrial Jackson-Denno hearing to determine the voluntariness of Luevano's statement to police in this case. 2 At the conclusion of the hearing, which included testimony from the interviewing officer, Giovanni De La Paz of the Tulsa Police Department, and Pilar Post, a certified courtroom Spanish translator, the Honorable Michelle Keely, District Judge, ruled that Luevano's statement to the police must be suppressed. Specifically, the district court found that Officer De La Paz's Spanish translation of the Miranda 3 warnings to Luevano was defective, failed to convey the substance of his rights, and under the totality of the circumstances presented resulted in an invalid waiver.

¶1 Appellee, Antonio Rahsawn Crawford, was charged in the District Court of Tulsa County, Case No. CF-2023-3455, with Count 1: Child Abuse by Injury, in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 843.5 (A), a felony. Prior to trial, the State filed a Notice of Intent to Introduce Evidence of Other Acts pursuant to 12 O.S.2021, § 2404 (B). 1 After a hearing on this motion, the Honorable Michelle Keely, District Judge, denied the State's request. The State of Oklahoma seeks to appeal this pretrial ruling pursuant to 22 O.S.Supp.2022, § 1053 (6).

¶1 Appellant, Trymel Keith Battee, appeals his Judgment and Sentence from the District Court of Choctaw County, Case No. CF 2021 67, Count 1, Conjoint Robbery, in violation of 21 O.S.2011, § 800 .

¶1 Appellant, Troy Radford, appeals the denial of his motion seeking pretrial immunity from prosecution pursuant to 21 O.S.2021, § 1289.25 (D) (Stand Your Ground) from the District Court of Caddo County, Case No. CF-2022-238. At the time of the hearing, Appellant was charged with one count of Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon, in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 652 .

¶1 Recognizing the novel and rapid development of generative artificial intelligence ("generative AI") and its use in the practice of law, as well as its potential to produce misinformation or even to hallucinate, 1 we find that a Rule should be adopted by this Court governing the use of generative AI in drafting any document for filing in this Court. Pursuant to Section 41 of Title 20 and Section 1051 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes, we hereby add, adopt, and promulgate this new Rule of the Rules of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals , Title 22, Ch.18, App. (2026), set forth as follows:

¶1 Appellant Jesus Efren Pena appeals his Judgment and Sentence from the District Court of Craig County, Case No. CF-2022 107, for Acquiring Proceeds from Drug Activity, in violation of 63 O.S.2021, § 2-503 .1(A). 1 The Honorable Shawn S. Taylor, District Judge, presided over Pena's jury trial and sentenced him in accordance with the jury's verdict to eight years imprisonment and a $50,000.00 fine, with credit for time served. Pena raises eight issues for review:

¶1 Petitioner, through counsel, appeals the order of the District Court of Oklahoma County denying his application for post-conviction relief in Case No. CF-2019-1712. In November 2021, a jury convicted Petitioner of Robbery with a Firearm and Aggravated Assault and Battery. He was sentenced to terms of imprisonment totaling thirty years. The conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. See Acosta v. State , No. F-2021-1434 (Okl.Cr. February 9, 2023) (not for publication).

¶1 Before this Court is the October 24, 2025 Order of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit entered in its pending appeal styled Terry, et al. v. Drummond , et al. , Case No. 24-6046. The current order is a continuation of a previous order certifying a question of law that we answered in Terry v. Drummond , 2025 OK CR 11 , ___ P.3d ___ ( Terry I) .

¶1 On September 19 and December 5, 2025, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Committee for Preparation of Uniform Criminal Jury Instructions (Committee) submitted its report and recommendations to the Court for adoption of amendments to Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions-Criminal (Second Edition) (OUJI-CR(2d)). The Court has reviewed the reports and recommendations by the Committee for the adoption of the proposed 2026 revisions to the Uniform Jury Instructions. Pursuant to 12 O.S.2021, § 577.1 , the Court accepts the reports and finds the revisions should be adopted.

¶1 We find it necessary that Rule 1.7 should be revised to reflect the correct and current address of the Clerk of this Court. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 1051(B) of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes, we hereby revise, adopt, promulgate, and republish Rule 1.7, Rules of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals , Title 22, Ch.18, App. (2026), as set forth in the following attachment ( strikethrough denotes deleted words, underline denotes added words).

¶1 Appellant, John Anthony Steel, appeals his Judgment and Sentence from the District Court of McCurtain County, Case No. CF-2023-108, Lewd or Indecent Proposal to Child Under 16, in violation of 21 O.S.Supp.2022, §1123 (A)(1).