On Sunday, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced that he was seeking the resignations of Mark Jennings, who stepped down on Wednesday, Larry Hendrix, the District Two Commissioner, Alicia Manning, the Jail Administrator, and Kevin Clardy, the sheriff’s Capt., Of McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office.
“I have an excavator,” replied the sheriff, and Jennings informed Clardy and Manning, “I am aware of the locations of two extensively excavated pits in case you require them.” The controversy arose following the release of excerpts from the recording by the McCurtain County Gazette News, where it seems that the four individuals discussed Bruce and Chris Willingham, who is the son of Bruce Willingham and a reporter for the newspaper.
Jennings also allegedly claims to have known “two or three contract killers” in Louisiana, stating that “they’re extremely reserved individuals.”
“They have gained additional privileges compared to us. In his statement, Jennings also seems to express dissatisfaction with the inability to execute African Americans in the audio recording.”
During the conversation, Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix was also in attendance.
The news agency, The Associated Press, could not immediately verify the authenticity of the emails, telephone calls, or returned recordings. None of the four could be confirmed by AP.
Clardy predicts that felony charges will be filed, and the newspaper says that the recording of the newspaper’s audio was illegal. Clardy calls the situation “complex” and regrets having the discussion recorded, but the comment does not address the recorded address on the sheriff’s office Facebook page — the first public comment by Kevin Clardy since the agency’s comments were reported by others and the News-Gazette McCurtain.
The ongoing investigation into significant multiple violations of the Oklahoma Security of Communications Act states that it is illegal to secretly record a conversation without the consent of at least one of the parties involved, according to the statement.
The publisher of the News-Gazette McCurtain, Bruce Willingham, stated that the recording was made on March 6th when he suspected that the group was continuing to conduct county business in the meeting room after the county commissioner’s meeting had ended, violating the state’s Open Meeting Act.
Willingham mentioned that he had conversed with his attorneys on two occasions to make certain that he was not participating in any illegal endeavors.
The passing of Bobby Barrick, an individual from Broken Bow, Oklahoma, who passed away at a medical facility in March 2022 following the use of a stun gun by McCurtain County deputies, including the demise of Bobby Barrick, a resident of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, who passed away at a medical facility in March 2022 after being shot with a stun gun by McCurtain County deputies, “reports we have published that portray the sheriff’s office in a negative manner,” the local authorities were disturbed by Bruce Willingham’s statement that he believes the local officials were upset about “reports we have published that portray the sheriff’s office in a negative manner.” The newspaper has initiated a legal action against the sheriff’s office in order to obtain body camera footage and other documents related to Barrick’s death.
Willingham’s phone was being used to attempt a warrant search, and employees inside the sheriff’s office were speaking to the newspaper about the problems. After writing an eight-part series of articles detailing the problems inside the sheriff’s office, he accused Manning and the County Commissioners Board of slandering him. Additionally, he alleged that Manning and Clardy, both employees of the sheriff’s office, were involved in the problems described in the articles.
According to the lawsuit filed on the same day the recording was made, a man who had been arrested for child pornography charges allegedly traded marijuana with Chris Willingham in exchange for pornographic images of children. Manning disclosed this information to a third party during a teleconference following the publication of the series.
The lawsuit alleges, “Manning fabricated these (and other) inaccurate claims regarding Willingham in response to the articles he penned about the (sheriff’s department) as a journalist for the McCurtain Gazette and to undermine his reputation as a reporter and journalist.”
More than 100 people gathered outside the McCurtain County Courthouse in Idabel on Monday, calling for the resignation of other county officials and the sheriff.
At its emergency meeting on Tuesday, the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association, a voluntary membership organization and not a regulatory association, unanimously voted to suspend Hendrix and Manning Clardy from the board.
The sheriff’s office statement stated that the first reported conversation was about threats of violence, such as death threats, targeting county employees, officials, their families, and friends, which have been numerous.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement that the findings and conclusions of the investigation will be forwarded to the appropriate authorities for charges to be filed on those involved, and news will not be released until the office concludes its investigation.
Earlier that day, a homicide took place in Florida, where a news television reporter was shot and killed, and a cameraman was wounded. This incident followed the killing of a reporter in Oklahoma in February.
This report was contributed by The Associated Press.
Copyright 2023 KXII. All privileges reserved.