KEN MILLER
Associated Press
A woman believed to have driven three men to an Oklahoma home where they were shot to death during a suspected home invasion has been arrested on murder and burglary warrants but the homeowner’s son who shot them has not been arrested while police investigate whether he acted in self-defense under the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law.
Wagoner County Deputy Nick Mahoney said Tuesday that Elizabeth Marie Rodriguez, 21, of Oologah was arrested on three first-degree murder and three first-degree burglary warrants and was jailed without bond after going to police and saying she had information about the shooting at a home just east of the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow.
“It was determined she had driven these individuals to the house and dropped them off with the intent to burglarize the residence,” Mahoney said. He said he did not know whether Rodriguez had an attorney.
Oklahoma law allows a person to be charged with murder if they take part in a crime in which people are killed, even if the person does not take part in the slaying. Oklahoma also is one of 24 states which have laws allowing citizens to shoot someone if they believe the person threatens their safety, according to the National Council of State Legislatures.
Mahoney said the homeowner’s 23-year-old son used an AR-15 rifle to shoot the three Monday afternoon after they broke through a glass door in the rear of the home.
Their names were not released, but Mahoney said two of the dead were 16 or 17 years old and the third was 18 or 19. The three were found wearing masks and gloves and dressed in black clothing. Brass knuckles and a knife were found among their possessions, he said.
“It looks like self-defense from the preliminary investigation, but that’s all speculative,” Mahoney said. “There’s some speculation as to whether or not that (Stand Your Ground) law applies in this case, the simple answer is I don’t know.”
Police sometimes make a recommendation to the prosecutor on whether or not to file charges, but Mahoney said he did not know if investigators will do that in this case.
Mahoney said the homeowner was not in the residence at the time of the shooting and that authorities were called to the home by the son shortly after the shooting.
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