Tahlequah Daily Press

Local News

Related Photos

  • Cherokee County sheriff’s investigators worked with the U.S. Marshal Service and Muskogee authorities Monday morning to find and arrest Richard James Kessinger Sr., 58, in Muskogee. Cherokee County Sheriff's Office

    jn kessinger arrest.tif

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
November 20, 2012

Fugitive nabbed in area

By JOSH NEWTON Staff Writer

MUSKOGEE — Authorities ended a months-long search Monday morning when they found a Tahlequah fugitive in Muskogee.

Richard James Kessinger Sr., 58, had been the focus of a lengthy search by Cherokee County law enforcement officials. Kessinger was wanted on two counts of failing to register as a sex offender, and is also facing a pending case of endeavoring to manufacture methamphetamine.

He was found in Muskogee Monday morning and immediately taken into custody.

As part of the area search, several other people have been arrested on meth-related charges and accusations of harboring a fugitive – in this case, Kessinger – in recent weeks.

Sheriff’s Investigator James Brown, a special deputy U.S. Marshal, said authorities received information that Kessinger could be in the Muskogee area, near Augusta and Choctaw streets. Cherokee County investigators worked with officers from Muskogee County and the U.S. Marshal Service to look for Kessinger at two homes there, but were unable to find him at either place.

They then drove toward a house in the 1200 block of Wood Street, a short distance from the first two homes, and found Kessinger standing in the middle of the road, Brown said.

Kessinger had reportedly been staying behind the house for several days and living out of a car belonging to Veronica M. Crow, 63, of Tahlequah. Authorities found that car behind the house.

Brown said Crow was also behind the house and immediately told authorities she wanted to talk with a lawyer. She was arrested and booked into the Muskogee County Jail for harboring a fugitive.

Kessinger was also held in Muskogee, where he is expected to be charged with failing to register as a sex offender.

Brown said Kessinger will have to deal with those charges and then be brought back to Cherokee County to face his local cases, including one with no bond.

Text Only
Local News
  • ts Cemetery main.tif Grave circumstances

    Cemeteries are often thought of with solemnity. If monuments are properly preserved, they can be a boon to genealogists and historians, and provide a place for generations of family to gather and remember lost loved ones.

    May 17, 2013 1 Photo

  • rf bike month.tif Bike trails will increase cycling interest

    One of the most unique uses for a stationary bicycle is to power a generator connected to a blender, making a juice drink in a tiny store in a jungle, as demonstrated on a Travel Channel show.

    May 17, 2013 1 Photo

  • Second Begay jury trial to begin

    Despite new DNA evidence introduced in the case, a district judge has decided to go ahead with a man’s second planned jury trial on child sex abuse charges.

    May 17, 2013

  • Lawns will need extra TLC this season

    Summer is almost here, and before the mercury hovers at the century mark, local residents are working to get the lawns in shape.

    May 17, 2013

  • ts Freewheel.tif Wheelin’ our way

    Freewheel representatives were in Tahlequah Wednesday, scouting their upcoming route.

    May 16, 2013 1 Photo

  • Rock gets 17 years for burning baby

    A Cherokee County mother charged with using an iron to burn her 14-month-old baby last year will spend 17 years in prison as part of a plea agreement on child-abuse charges.

    May 16, 2013

  • Anti-smoking bill draws mixed reactions

    Anti-tobacco legislation recently signed into law by Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has some local residents expressing concern over what they view is another liberty lost, while others are pleased with measures they believe will protect public health.

    May 16, 2013

  • Two snared after taking marijuana

    Two people were arrested this week after authorities found them to be in possession of marijuana.

    May 16, 2013

  • Two hurt in attack at apartment

    Two people were hospitalized and a third was arrested Wednesday morning after an attack at Pleasant View Apartments.

    May 16, 2013

  • Feds mull lowering blood-alcohol cutoff to .05

    Federal safety investigators are encouraging all states to lower the existing blood-alcohol content cutoff of .08 to .05, and local authorities have varying opinions on the request.

    May 16, 2013

Poll

What do you think of Sen. McCain's proposal to allow cable TV channels to be sold a la carte (individually, rather than in bundles with a lot of channels no one wants)? Bear in mind some less popular channels could go by the wayside with no bundling support, and that while overall packages should theoretically decrease in cost, individual channels might cost more.

Strongly in favor of a la carte.
Somewhat in favor of a la carte.
Somewhat opposed to a la carte.
Strongly opposed to a la carte.
Undecided
     View Results
Press Sports Twitter Updates
Follow us on twitter
Follow me on Twitter
AP Video
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel? Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting Raw: School Bus Crash Injures Five Children Quick Response Saved Baby on Phila. Train Tracks One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Stocks
Bedlam