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Ex-Deputy Wants out of Jail Until Sentencing

Tulsa County Sheriff's Office

A former volunteer sheriff's deputy in Oklahoma who was convicted last week of fatally shooting an unarmed and restrained man wants to be released from jail on bond while waiting to be sentenced.

A judge will consider the request for former Tulsa County Sheriff's reserve deputy Robert Bates at a hearing Tuesday.

Bates was convicted Wednesday of fatally shooting Eric Harris during an illegal gun sales sting last year. Moments after the conviction, Bates was booked into jail.

Harris family attorney Dan Smolen contends Bates is ineligible for post-conviction bail under Oklahoma law, adding even if the court finds in Bates' favor, he's a flight risk.

"Bates is the rare convicted felon with the financial resources to leave the state, or even the country, and support himself for years while on the lam," Smolen said in a statement.

Jurors recommended that Bates serve four years in prison, and the 74-year-old insurance executive is due for sentencing May 31.

Harris' killing prompted a grand jury investigation of the sheriff's office and the indictment and resignation of Sheriff Stanley Glanz, who was a close friend of Bates.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.