Jury deadlocks, mistrial declared in Tulsa ex-officer’s case

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A judge has declared a mistrial after jurors couldn’t agree whether to convict a former Tulsa police officer of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his daughter’s boyfriend.

Tulsa County District Judge Sharon Holmes declared the mistrial early Friday in the trial for Shannon Kepler, who was charged in the 2014 shooting death of 19-year-old Jeremey Lake.

Kepler, who later retired from the Tulsa police force, argued that he acted in self-defense.

Jurors deadlocked on whether to convict Kepler of first-degree murder, but they did convict him of two misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct with a firearm. The Tulsa World reports (http://bit.ly/2fqbSbp ) that Kepler will be sentenced Monday on the misdemeanor charges and a new date for the murder trial will be set then as well.