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PM NewsBrief: Nov. 7, 2023

This is the KGOU PM NewsBrief for Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors Make Final Plea To Oklahoma Supreme Court

The survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre submitted their final plea to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Attorneys for the two remaining survivors of the massacre have filed their final brief hoping to get their public nuisance case to trial.

At a press conference in front of the Supreme Court building on Monday, attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons emphasized the urgency of this next step.

“There is nowhere else for us to go. There is no going to the federal court system. This is it,” Solomon-Simmons said.

In July, Tulsa County District Judge Caroline Wall dismissed the survivors’ case for reparations from the city, which they say was complicit in the massacre.

“Specifically, our brief is saying that Judge Wall was incorrect and the Supreme Court should send us back to her courtroom and allow us to move this case forward in discovery and towards a trial,” Solomon-Simmons said.

Solomon-Simmons says he has no timeline as to when the court will decide if his clients can continue their lawsuit.

Former Owner Of Norman Car Dealership Headed To Federal Prison

A former owner of a Norman car dealership will serve nearly 11 years in federal prison for fraud and other crimes.

51-year-old Bobby Mayes was sentenced to 130 months in federal prison for wire fraud, conspiracy, issuing forged securities, aggravated identity theft, and obstruction of justice. Mayes owned the Big Red Dealerships in Norman when he and two employees, 65-year-old Charles Gooch and 38-year-old Courtney Wells, defrauded car buyers and lenders out of millions of dollars by misrepresenting borrower’s down payments and vehicle trade-ins.

Their scheme involved bribing a loan officer to approve questionably high loans and operating a fake pawn shop to cover up fraudulent cash down payments.

Following their initial indictment in 2020, Mayes helped Wells and her boyfriend flee to Mexico where they were later apprehended.

Gooch and Wells will be sentenced in the coming weeks.

Oklahoma Is Among Top States For Attracting New Residents

Oklahoma is among the top 10 states that attract the most out-of-state migration.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, last year just about 118,000 moved into the Sooner state, far outpacing the 85-thousand who left.

A report from StorageCafe ranked Oklahoma 10th in the nation for having one of the highest net migration rates relative to its population, with nearly 10 new arrivals for every 1,000 residents.

Experts say Oklahoma’s growth has a lot to do with affordability.

So, where are people coming from? The study shows most newcomers are from Texas and California. Kansas was a close third.

The top states seeing a decline in population include New York, Alaska, Illinois and California.

Report Offers Ways To Address Problems When Solving Crimes Involving Indigenous People

A 200-page federal report is offering up new ways to address problems facing law enforcement when trying to solve crimes involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.

The commission visited seven communities, including Tulsa where they heard excoriating testimony from community members, survivors and even law enforcement.

One of the key findings the commission reported was a lack of funding. Not only for programs helping victims and their families but for tribal law enforcement to do their jobs.

Another key finding: the lack of tribal jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute violent crimes decreases trust within the community.

The report calls on Congress to change a 1978 law that prohibits tribal nations from exercising criminal jurisdiction within their reservation.

The report also called on Congress to fix the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Castro-Huerta v. Oklahoma, which clawed back some of the protections in the landmark 2020 McGirt v. Oklahoma decision.

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