By Bob Gibbins, Press Staff Writer
An eight-woman four-man jury deliberated for six hours Tuesday evening before convicting an area man of raping a young family member.
Earnest R. Kingery Jr., 34, was charged with raping the girl earlier this year and has been in the Cherokee County Jail since March on the charge. Jurors recommended a 70-year sentence for Kingery.
The verdict ended a 1-1/2 day trial. Jury selection was completed the first day and jurors heard testimony for half a day Tuesday before being sent to deliberate the case.
A second rape count originally filed against Kingery was dismissed by prosecutors before the trial.
Associate District Judge Mark Dobbins asked court-appointed defense counsel Lawrence Langley whether his client wanted a pre-sentence investigation. Langley said he and Kingery believe the investigation would be pointless because state law will require Kingery to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence (59-1/2 years) before being considered for parole and Dobbins is not permitted to suspend any portion of the sentence.
Dobbins set formal sentencing for Aug. 4 at 11 a.m. Kingery will remain in custody pending his sentencing.
Family members listened in the courtroom as Dobbins read the verdict shortly before 10 p.m. The judge told spectators they should leave the courtroom, if they believed they could not control their emotions when the verdict was read. There were no outbursts.
District Attorney Richard L. Gray’s staff discussed the verdict with family members outside the courtroom following the reading of the decision.
Jurors initially announced they reached a verdict at approximately 9:30 p.m., but Dobbins said the verdict form was not proper because it contained suggestions concerning matters that were not for the jury to decide. He spoke with attorneys outside the presence of the jury and then returned to court to instruct the panel their only consideration was guilt or innocence and, if they decided Kingery was guilty, to set a punishment.
The jury briefly returned to the deliberation room to complete a new verdict form and then returned to the courtroom.
Cherokee County Chief Investigator Jason Chennault, who investigated the case with Broken Arrow police, was pleased with the jury’s decision.
“It was obvious they worked hard to reach a decision,” he said.
Langley also asked that a copy of the transcript of the trial be prepared for him at public expense.
