Altus Times (Altus, Okla.), Vol. 98, No. 249, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 7, 1998 Page: 1 of 14
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Altus Times-Democrat and was provided to The Gateway to Oklahoma History by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
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Wednesday
3......Pages 4-5
—•
00
Altus, Oklahoma — Home of Ruth Pixley
STAT
OF OK L A
News
death penalty
Briefs
Please see *NICHOLS page2
T r. rT rin ral
L". L*J LE L L
to appeal his case to a higher
District Court.
Please see *Briefs. page 2
Altus firefighters leave the Jackson County Jail and
said Lemaster. “Not the Sheriff's Office.
City council votes wolf hybrids out of town
Tuesday night's regular meeting inside the city limits.
bears, all forms of poisonous
Petkoff sentencing delayed, attorney files for new trial
Please see *PETKOFF. page 7
CrossingtineRe
EMERGENCY
Around Town
WEATHER
Pause to Pray
Jackson County jail inmates
set small fire, create havoc
By Mark Glenn
Times Assistant
Managing Editor
“I made haste and delalyed
not to keep thy command-
ments.” May I be eager to keep
your laws, knowing that to do
so will be beneficial for me and
will please and honor you.
Altus Lions Club will meet
Thursday at the Friendship Inn
The featured speaker will be
Amy Hornbuckle of Jackson
County Memorial Hospital
Deadline for items for News
Briefs and Around Town is 10
a.m. the day of publication.
The Anna Lee chapter of
the Daughters of the Ameri-
can Revolution will meet at 2
p m. Thursday at Western
Sizzlin’.
Training funds are available
through Southwestern Okla-
homa Development Authority
— or SWODA — for those who
qualify for the Job Training
Partnership Act. Workers dis-
located or laid off from jobs
and eligible individuals age 55
and older ready to training for a
new career, should contact
SWODA at 477-1439 for more
information.
Altus City Council members
adopted an ordinance that pro-
hibits the housing of wolves in
the city limits and approved pur-
chase order claims which in-
cluded $840 in gift certificates to
inmates of the work center.
The action was taken during
By Mark Glenn
Times Assistant
Managing Editor
By Mark Glenn
Times Assistant
Managing Editor
By Mark Glenn
Times Assistant
Managing Editor
jury had recommended a 25-
year prison term
However after hearing a plea
from Petkoff for an opportunity
to present new evidence. Tillman
County Associate District Judge
David Barnett delayed the sen-
tencing.
Petkoff pleaded with Barnett
that he was inadequately repre-
sented at the trial, accused three
witnesses of lying during t he trial
— saying t heir testimony doesn’t
of the council.
The council approved the ordi-
nance which was submitted by
City Attorney Catherine Coke
calling for amendment to an or-
dinance prohibiting wolves and
wolf hybrids in the city limits.
Coke presented the amendment
which clarifies language of the
-J Cu L . uJ
X I L
V V V
LJ LILA L L
housing of lions, tigers, leop-
ards. panthers, wolves, foxes.
lynxes or any hybrid of like ani-
than life in prison if jurors de-
cided to put the decision in his
hands.
The jury had three options: is-
sue a death sentence, send
Nichols to prison for life without
Robert Stephenson and Ricky
Brewer joined Anderson in vot-
ing no for the emergency clause
of the amendment which would
put the matter into affect imme-
An 18-year-old Altus man
who was convicted of the mur-
der of a 22-month girl during
a Novemberjury trial has been
and use of a truck bomb in the
deadliest terrorist act ever on
U.S. soil.
On Monday, jurors asked
parole, or send the case back to
thejudge. Matsch told the jurors
they had done their job after
"1 have forwarded to the district
attorney’s office information out
lining and detailing where their
witnesses have lied under oath."
Petkoff told Barnett du ring Tues
day proceedings
“My attorney (Thomas) did a
horrible job presenting me and
representing me in court He
came unprepared and unwilling
to work
Formal sentencing for 39-yea, -
old Bobby Petkoff has been de-
layed.
Petkoff was found guilty of un-
lawful possession of a controlled
drug in a October jury trial and
was scheduled for formal sen-
tencing Tuesday afternoon in
Jackson County District. The
Tonight: A 60 percent
chance of freezing rain or sleet
Low near 30. North wind 10 to
20 mph.
Thursday: A slight chance of
freezing rain early in the morn-
ing: Then a slight chance of
rain. Otherwise decreasing
clouds High in the upper 40s
Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
20 percent chance of precipi-
tation
Friday: Partly cloudy. High
near 50.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy.
Low in the lower 20s and high
in the lower 40s.
High Tuesday: 49
Overnight low: 32
Happy birthday to TANYA
MONTGOMERY, JUSTIN
URBANA, and JIM DEAL. .
Happy anniversary to TOMMY
and JULIA REVILLA.
...Page 10
) favorite magazine
Tuesday results for
Cotton Belt tourney
Opinion.....Page 11
Holthes are 'birthday-
challenged'
Esquivel given life
sentence for murder
ALTUS
ERE DEPT
Nichols jury
deadlocks on
By Sandy Shore
Associated Press Writer
■ Matsch sends jury home after
deadlock in penalty phase, will
mete out lesser sentence
Jackson County Memorial
Home Care will provide free
blood pressure and sugar
screening from 11 a.m. to 1
p.m. Thursday at the Tipton
Senior Citizen Center.
Another small fire broke out
the Jackson County Jail Tues-
day morning.
It apparently started when
some inmates got a hold of
some matches and set fire to
some cotton gathered from a
mattress in the cell they were
in, according to Jackson
County Sheriff Kenneth
Lemaster.
A crew from the Altus fire
department had the fire un
der control in span of min-
utes and officers of the Altus
Police Department responded
to assistant officers of the
sheriff's department.
The latest fire was one of
several that have broken out
at the jail in the last two
months.
Jackson County Sheriff Ken
neth Lemaster said the other
fires stemmed from a no smok
ing policy which became ef-
fective Nov. 1. Lemaster also
blamed the previous fires on
his decision to take radios out
of the jail and forbidding the
inmates to watch television.
"I’m tryingto run a jail here."
The Altus Ham Radio Club
will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday at
the Southwest Technology
Center for a business meeting.
At 7 p.m. the club will meet to
elect new officers.
The toddler died from mas-
sive head injuries on the night
of April 5 according to an au
topsy performed by officials of
the State Medical Examiners
office.
Testimony from the trial re-
vealed that Esquivel was
Altus Times photos by Sherry Jones
Fire and a disturbance at the Jackson County jail brought response from the
Altus Fire Department, Altus Police Department and Jackson County EMS.
Find us
on the web
www.altustimes.com
Jan. 7, 1998
Vol. 98, No. 249
Founded March15, 1900
50c
ACMI House's Bargain Bar-
rel, 209 West Broadway, will
be open Tuedays and
Wednesday’s from 1 to4p.m.,
and Saturdays from 10 a.m to
4 p.m
OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION
07 AWARD
7 / WINNING
-4 NEWSPAPER
city statues specifically saying mals,alligators,crocodiles,apes,
which animals cannot be housed foxes, elephants, rhinoceroses.
diately. However a 60 percent
approval is required for emer-
gency clauses. The amendment
will go into affect in 30 days.
Wolf-dog owners Kent Holley
and Sheila Smith pleaded their
cases to the council.
Smith said the wolves are not
aggressive by nature and do not
attack people. She asked the
Please see *COUNCIL, page 2
An eight-man, four-woman court.
jury found Esquivel guilty of At the end of 10 days,
murder in the first degree in Esquivel will be transported
the April 5 beating death of to the correctional center in
Andriana Rivas. The jury also Lexington when he will begin
recommended the life without serving his sentence.
parole sentence.
ordered to spend the rest of babysitting the girl on the
his life in jail. morning April while her
Tillman County Associate mother was at work.
District Judge sentenced Esquivel exercised his op-
Jimmy Esquivel to life with- tion to be placed in the Jack
out parole during formal sen- son County Jail for 10 days
fencing proceedings Tuesday giving him the opportunity to
afternoon in Jackson County decide whether or not he wants
match up. This was before being the sentenced phase of the trial
told by Barnett to “shut up" on and was going to ask to be re-
two occasions during the pro- lieved from the case.
ceedings. “I believe that an attorney-cli-
An apparent conflict between ent relationship ought to be a
Petkoff and his Oklahoma City trusting relationship," said Tho-
attorney D.C. Thomas surfaced mas. "I don’t think Mr. Petkoff
during the October trial thinks that way and 1 don’t ei-
Moments after the conviction ther.
of Petkoff was announced. Tho- Thomas was relieved of the case
mas informed Barnett in the and Glen Dresback was ap-
courtroom that he did not plan pointed in December to repre-
on representing Petkoff during sent Petkoff.
Hilton." when the fire broke out.
Lemaster said the inmates Lemaster said that matterwas
most recently are complaining under control in matter of
about the food they are being minutes.
served. "It (the report) was blown
Lemaster scoffed at the report out of proportion." said
of riot which supposedly o< Lemaster. The sheriff said
curred about 1:30 p.m. Tues there was one minor injury in
day. Reportedly, four prisoners the fracas. Deputy Morris
refused to go back into their cell Roberts suffered some
after they had been evacuated scratches, he said.
DENVER (AP) — Terry Nichols deliberating over two days,
escaped a death sentence today "I do not want you to feel that
when his jury deadlocked in the you have in any way failed to
penalty phase of the Oklahoma meet your responsibility
City bombing trial and was dis- Matsch said.
missed by the judge. Nichols was convicted or i I Dec
Under federal law, a death sen- 23 of conspiracy and eight count s
tence can only be imposed by a of involuntary manslaughter for
jury. U.S. District Judge Rich- the April 19, 1995, bombing that
ard Matsch had promised he killed 168 people. He was a
would issue a penalty of less quitted of first-degree murder
Coke told the council the previ- snakes, lynxes, raccoons,
ous ordinance does prevent skunks, monkeys, prairie dogs,
people from keeping of wolves bats, and like animals."
and wolf hybrids in the city . The matter passed by a 7-1
The amendment of the ordi- margin with Kenny Anderson
nance specifically prohibits the casting the lone dissenting vote.
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Cole, Carol. Altus Times (Altus, Okla.), Vol. 98, No. 249, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 7, 1998, newspaper, January 7, 1998; Altus, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2185022/m1/1/?q=War+of+the+Rebellion.: accessed June 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.