Oklahoma man faces manslaughter charge over stray bullet death
Sandra Phelps was sitting on her porch on Christmas Day, holding a child, when she was fatally shot, according to a sheriff’s affidavit. Witnesses told law enforcement that Ms. Phelps remarked on the sound of gunfire, said "ouch," and then collapsed.
Cody Wayne Adams, 33, was charged and booked into jail on December 26 but later released on a $100,000 (£74,000) bond, according to court records. He reportedly told authorities that he had recently purchased a Glock .45-caliber handgun and had been shooting at a drink can in his backyard, roughly half a mile (0.8 km) from where Ms. Phelps was sitting.
Deputies informed Adams that they suspected he had struck Ms. Phelps, prompting him to “become visibly upset and begin to cry,” wrote Stephens County Sheriff’s Captain Timothy Vann in the affidavit.
Ms. Phelps was hit in the upper right arm, with the bullet entering her chest cavity while the child remained in her left arm. She was pronounced dead approximately 20 minutes after deputies received the emergency call.
Captain Vann noted in the affidavit that Adams had been “shooting towards the ground in his backyard” where “there was nothing behind his property to stop any bullets from traveling beyond his property and hurting someone.”
Under Oklahoma law, first-degree manslaughter is classified as a homicide that occurs without intent to kill during the commission of a misdemeanor. In this case, the alleged misdemeanor involved conduct with a firearm demonstrating a “conscious disregard for the safety of others.” Conviction carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison.
Adams is scheduled to appear in court on February 25 and has been ordered not to contact the victim’s family.
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