The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office filed First-Degree Murder charges today against two men accused of shooting four women to death at an apartment in Fairmont Terrace on January 7.
Cedric Dwayne Poore, 39, and his brother, James Stanford Poore, 32, were charged with four counts of First-Degree Murder (Malice Aforethought) and four additional counts of Robbery with a Firearm. Cedric Poore also was charged with Possession of a Firearm After Former Conviction of a Felony. Both men also were charged with alternative counts of First-Degree Felony Murder. Oklahoma law allows prosecutors to file a felony murder charge when someone is killed during the commission of a robbery. Rebeika Powell, 23; Kayetie Powell Melchor, 23; Misty Nunley, 33; and Julie Jackson, 55, were shot to death during a robbery, a police investigation indicated. Their bodies were found in a bedroom at the apartment near 61st Street and Peoria Avenue.
“Filing charges is the first step in our effort to obtain justice for each of these victims, their families and the community,” said First Assistant District Attorney Doug Drummond. “As in any case, both men are presumed innocent until proven guilty. At the appropriate time, the District Attorney’s Office must present evidence to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Both men have prior felony convictions for robbery. Cedric Poore was sentenced to 35 years in prison for a 1995 robbery in which two victims at a Tulsa club were bound and cash stolen from the from the business. James Poore pled guilty in 2001 to four Tulsa convenience store robberies and was sentenced to 12 years in prison and 5 years suspended sentence.
“In cases such as these, we review the facts and evidence to determine whether to seek the death penalty as an option of punishment,” Drummond said. “At some point after the preliminary hearing, we will conduct a formal review and make a determination.”
Under Oklahoma law, the punishment for First-Degree Murder can be life with the possibility of parole, life without the possibility of parole or death. The maximum punishment for each count of Robbery with a Firearm is life with the possibility of parole.