TULSA, Okla. – The Latest on the fourth murder trial of a white former Oklahoma police officer charged with killing his daughter's black boyfriend (all times local):
11:45 p.m.
A white former Oklahoma police officer has been convicted of first-degree manslaughter in his fourth trial for the 2014 fatal shooting of his daughter's black boyfriend.
Jurors reached a verdict for a lesser charge late Wednesday in ex-Tulsa officer Shannon Kepler's first-degree murder trial.
Kepler was off-duty when he shot 19-year-old Jeremey Lake. He told investigators he fired because he thought Lake had a gun, but police found no weapon at the scene or on Lake.
Kepler said he was trying to protect his daughter, Lisa Kepler, because she was living in a crime-ridden neighborhood.
Jurors in Kepler's previous three trials deadlocked 11-1, 10-2 and 6-6, forcing the judge to declare mistrials.
Although they couldn't decide on the murder charge, jurors in the first trial convicted Kepler of recklessly using his firearm.
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6:20 p.m.
Jurors in the fourth trial of a white former Oklahoma police officer accused of killing his daughter's black boyfriend are deliberating a verdict.
The jury left a Tulsa County courtroom at 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, shortly after the former officer, 57-year-old Shannon Kepler, testified in his own defense. Kepler doesn't deny shooting 19-year-old Jeremey Lake, but says he did so because he thought he was armed. No weapon was found on or near Lake's body.
In closing arguments, prosecutors said Kepler set out to "hunt" down Lake and picked the time and location of the August 2014 confrontation.
Defense attorney Richard O'Carroll accused prosecutors of pursuing a "political" case against Kepler and says he has been "unequivocal" in three previous trials that he saw Lake armed.
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1 p.m.
A white former Oklahoma police officer on trial for the fourth time in the 2014 killing of his daughter's black boyfriend has told jurors he had no choice but to shoot the young man.
Former Tulsa officer Shannon Kepler was the last witness called in the case. Closing arguments are expected Wednesday afternoon before the case goes to the jury.
Kepler said he saw 19-year-old Jeremey Lake reaching into his waistband for what he believed to be a gun, so Kepler fired. No weapon was found on or near Lake's body.
Lisa Kepler had been in and out of a homeless shelter after her father prohibited her from bringing men into his house.
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8:55 a.m.
A white former Oklahoma police officer on trial for a fourth time in the fatal shooting of his daughter's black boyfriend is expected to testify in his defense.
Ex-Tulsa officer Shannon Kepler is expected to testify Wednesday in the 2014 shooting of Jeremey Lake, the 19-year-old boyfriend of Kepler's daughter, Lisa.
Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday after jurors heard a 911 call where Kepler's daughter screams to dispatchers that her father had shot Lake. Lisa Kepler has testified at each of her father's first-degree murder trials.
Shannon Kepler doesn't deny shooting Lake, but has said he did so because he thought he was armed. No weapon was found on or near Lake's body.
Three previous juries deadlocked 11-1, 10-2 and 6-6, forcing the judge to declare mistrials.
