Recommends maximum sentence
By Tony Pennington and Tom Blakey
Transcript Staff Writers
It took several hours of deliberation Monday before a jury arrived at the unanimous decision of guilty for a Noble man accused of two counts of lewd molestation of a minor.
Larry Alan Whitely, 35, of Noble, was silent and still as Judge William Hetherington read the verdict shortly after 6 p.m. It took the jury about six hours to find Whitely guilty on both counts, and the panel recommended the maximum sentence of 20 years each. Formal sentencing will be scheduled later. Whitely immediately was taken into custody and a $250,000 bond was set.
Whitely originally was charged Feb. 13, 2006, with four counts of first degree rape of a victim under the age of 14. According to court documents, counts III and IV were dismissed May 9, 2006, at the preliminary hearing due to insufficient evidence. While counts I and II were deemed to have sufficient evidence, the charges were amended July 7, 2006, to lewd molestation of a minor.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Austin was pleased with the outcome and said the key was the testimony of the 12 year-old victim. The minor had taken the stand last week clutching a stuffed animal and spoke of graphic encounters with Whitely at his residences in Elgin and Noble.
"The jury heard her testimony and thought she was telling the truth," Austin said after the announcement. "It was justice for her."
Defense attorney David Smith had a different perspective on the trial that left Whitely's mother shaken and in tears in the courtroom. Smith maintains his client's innocence and resolved to appeal the decision.
"It's a really sad thing to see an innocent man go to prison," he said. "We still have some battles left to fight, and we will fight every one of them."
Juries selected in other trials
Another trial is expected to begin in Hetherington's courtroom today, with the selection of a jury with which to try the case of Richard Everett Billetter, 39, charged with forcible oral sodomy and lewd acts with a child.
In the courtroom of District Judge Lori Walkley, a jury was seated Monday and is expected to begin hearing testimony today in the trial of Forest Rainey Holmes Jr., 50, Lexington.
Charges of first-degree burglary and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon were filed against Holmes in March 2006. Prosecutors contend Holmes kicked in the front door of a Lexington residence and struck the resident about the head and body with a BB gun rifle, a radio and a hose.
In the courtroom of District Judge Tom Lucas, a jury is expected to begin hearing testimony today in the trial of Rickey Fowler, 45, Moore, charged with the unlawful distribution of pseudoephedrine with reckless disregard for how it was going to be used.
Originally charged with criminal racketeering, Fowler is accused of selling more than 10 million tablets of pseudoephedrine -- the main ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine -- over a two-year period, to convenience stores, bait shops, smoke shops and head shops throughout Oklahoma.
