NORMAN — Five suspects have now been charged in the Feb. 13 death of a Norman man.
Jeremy Alan Smith, Michael Dwanye Walker and Justin Tyler Dewberry were charged Monday in Cleveland County District Court. Walker, 25, Smith, 26, and Dewberry, 26, were each charged with one count of accessory to felony murder in connection with the robbery and murder of Patrick Burton, 51.
Smith’s alleged role in the crime is described in the probable cause affidavit in connection with the victim’s stolen vehicle, a white Chevy pickup. Walker and Dewberry are believed to have assisted in the robbery and concealing evidence.
Smith was booked into Cleveland County jail Feb. 28, where he is being held on a $250,000 bond. Smith’s record indicates a history related to auto theft. Last year, he was charged with receipt of a stolen vehicle. He pleaded guilty to a reduced receipt of stolen property in October 2012. According to court records, he was given a deferred sentence on that charge.
Walker was arrested and booked into Cleveland County jail Feb. 28 and is being held on a $100,000 bond in relation to the felony murder charges as well as a $2,500 bond for failure to appear on a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license.
Dewberry fled and was apprehended Friday evening in a traffic stop at Interstate 40 and Sunnylane in Del City by a Cleveland County Sheriff’s deputy working with the U.S. Marshal Service’s Central Metro Fugitive Taskforce. He was booked into Cleveland County jail and is being held on a $250,000 bond. Court records indicate Dewberry pleaded guilty in 2009 of attempted larceny of a tractor.
Last week, District Attorney Greg Mashburn also filed charges against Mary Courtney Cheyenne York, 19, and Christopher Cody King, 24, for allegedly killing and robbing Burton and then setting his home on fire to conceal the crime.
Norman firefighters responded to a fire at Burton’s residence, 619 Villa Drive, at 11 a.m. Feb. 13.
Police reports indicate the home had been ransacked and several items, including the victim’s pickup, were missing. During the alleged robbery, King was reported to have shot Burton, then moved the body, doused it with accelerant and started the fire to destroy evidence, according to the police report.
King — accompanied by York, Dewberry and Walker — used the victim’s credit cards at Riverwind Casino, where all four were caught on the casino’s video surveillance, according to the police report.
Police interviews of the four subjects revealed that all four were at the victim’s residence at the time of the murder, according to the affidavit. Dewberry and Walker were waiting in a vehicle outside the home when an alleged altercation between the victim and King resulted in the shooting death, according to police reports.
Investigators allege that Dewberry and Walker concealed both a credit card belonging to the victim and the handgun used in the murder. According to police reports, Walker admitted to attempting to wiping fingerprints from the gun and covering it with grass in a ditch near the casino.
The suspects are believed to have stolen the victim’s pickup.
King and York reportedly were caught on video at the Days Inn at Interstate 35 and SE 82nd in Oklahoma City along with Smith and the victim’s pickup. The partially stripped pickup was later found at Smith’s residence, according to the affidavit.
York and King are charged with arson and the first-degree murder of Burton. King also is charged with larceny of a motor vehicle.
York and King are being held in the Cleveland County jail.
The Burton family has a funeral fund set up at Arvest Bank for Patrick Burton. A bank representative said Burton banked there and donations can be made at any Arvest Bank branch.
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