Woman pleads guilty to first-degree murder
Apr. 1—A Norman woman pled guilty Tuesday in Cleveland County District Court to first-degree murder following a fatal 2019 stabbing.
Allison Annette Cometsevah, 32, confessed to Norman police and turned herself in after fatally stabbing Billy Phillip Skinner, 57, on July 2, 2019.
Police said that in 2019, early indications suggested the suspect and victim had only recently met.
District Judge Thad Balkman accepted her guilty plea and will hold formal sentencing at 3 p.m. May 19.
Cometsevah was previously arrested for multiple charges of possession of a dangerous substance along with numerous moving violations like driving while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license.
Norman woman convicted of embezzlement
A Norman woman was convicted Wednesday morning in Cleveland County District Court of embezzling $6,880 from a Dollar General Store.
According to a court affidavit, Robyn Lyn Presler, 53, embezzled thousands of dollars in merchandise from a Norman Dollar General while employed there in 2019 and 2020. The defendant admitted to taking the items in a written statement to Norman police in July.
Presler paid $5,000 restitution Wednesday, and will pay $75 a month until the balance is fully paid.
Balkman sentenced her to three years suspended in the Cleveland County jail and one year probation.
Norman man charged with child abuse
A Norman man was charged March 24 in Cleveland County District Court with child abuse after he allegedly broke a 22-month-old baby's arm.
Scott Leon Hickam, 47, is accused of grabbing the baby's arm and forcefully moving it up and down while at an Oklahoma City mobile home Nov. 15, according to a court affidavit.
Oklahoma City police initially responded to the report about two hours later and spoke to the baby's mother. She said Hickam grabbed the baby's left arm "a little too forcefully" while they were sitting on the couch, then the baby started crying. She took the baby to Integris Community Hospital in Moore, where physicians told her the arm was fractured in two places.
According to the affidavit, she and Hickam were working on the baby's cognitive skills when Hickam grabbed the baby's arm to wave it. The mother said during an interview Nov. 23 that she told Hickam to stop multiple times and that he shook the arm for about five seconds. He stopped when the baby cried.
During an interview Feb. 2, Hickam waived his Miranda rights and spoke with Oklahoma City police. He said he didn't realize how forcefully he grabbed the baby's arm, and though he acknowledged having a temper, said he wasn't upset when he shook the baby's arm. He claimed to have blacked out during the incident and claimed it was accidental.
According to the affidavit, an officer presented the baby's medical records of the incident to a child abuse expert at The Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City. The expert found that the fractures were caused by excessive force.
Special Judge Nathaniel Hales issued a warrant for his arrest with a $15,000 bond Friday. Hickam is not currently listed as in custody in the Cleveland County jail.
Jamie Berry covers police and court news for The Transcript. Reach her at jberry@normantranscript.com, 366-3532 or @JamieStitches13.
