Former police officers Dingman, Taylor convicted in 2019 murder
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Joshua Taylor, 25, and Brandon Dingman, 34, were convicted Friday on second-degree murder charges in connection with the 2019 death of 28-year-old Jared Lakey. The former Wilson Police officers were each sentenced to 10 years in prison.
According to Oklahoma criminal statutes, the penalty for murder in the second degree is 10 years to life in prison.
After an initial investigation by OSBI and review by the courts, Carter County District Judge Carson Brooks determined there were reasonable grounds for Taylor and Dingman to stand trial in mid-2020. Taylor and Dingman were initially placed on house arrest with ankle monitor requirements from July to December 2020.
In a July 1, 2020, statement, District Attorney Craig Ladd explained reasons for the delay in the filing of charges against the officers. The OSBI investigation reportedly lasted for seven months before a final investigative report was submitted to the district attorney’s office.
After receiving the final report, Ladd said he searched for a use of force expert to review the evidence in the case and render an opinion on whether the use of force was excessive. This reportedly added an additional three months to the process.
The COVID-19 pandemic also reportedly slowed the process, with necessary meetings taking longer to arrange.
Carter County court documents filed in the case alleged that the officers’ use of tasers constituted a “substantial factor” in bringing about Lakey’s death and that the 50-plus deployments of the tasers “greatly exceeded what would have been necessary or warranted.”
In an affidavit, the OSBI agent assigned to investigate the case stated that Lakey never grabbed or made any aggressive move towards either officer during the encounter. However, the officer’s reports following the incident make opposite claims, describing Lakey as “agitated” and “aggressive.”
Just after the encounter with the former officers, Lakey was transported to a hospital in Healdton and then to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where he died on the morning of July 6, 2019.
Court documents state that cause of death was cited as multiple heart attacks and “law enforcement use of electrical weapon and restraint.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Ardmoreite: Former police officers convicted in 2019 murder
