TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A former Oklahoma volunteer sheriff's deputy charged with second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man is due in court.
The hearing on Monday is expected to be the last for ex-Tulsa County Sheriff's Office volunteer deputy Robert Bates before his April 18 trial.
Bates is charged in the shooting death of Eric Harris last April. Bates left the agency after the shooting and has pleaded not guilty. He says he confused his handgun and stun gun. The shooting led to a grand jury investigation of the sheriff's office and the indictment of former sheriff Stanley Glanz.
Glanz resigned Nov. 1 after being charged with two misdemeanors.
Bates is a close friend of Glanz and gave thousands of dollars in cash, vehicles and equipment to the sheriff's office.