In plea agreements, two men pleaded guilty in the 145th District Court Thursday to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for their roles in the shooting death of Charles Frazar on Mar. 11, 2009.
Okeiron Bowser, 20, received eight years, and Marsh Odom, 21, received a sentence of five years in state prison. Both men will be eligible for parole after they have completed one-half their sentences, which includes time already served in the county jail. The maximum sentence for a conviction of aggravated assault is 20 years.
Andrew Rogers/The Daily Sentinel |
Okeiron Bowser, age 20, gets into the back of a police car Thursday morning after pleading guilty to aggravated assault in the 145th district court for his involvement in the March 11 shooting death of Charles Frazar. Bowser pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement in which the Nacogdoches District Attorney Nicole LoStracco dropped two other charges of murder and aggravated robbery. LoStracco could not explain the reasoning for the plea bargain because another defendant in the case is still awaiting trial.
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As part of the state's offered plea bargain, Nacogdoches District Attorney Nicole LoStracco dropped the two other charges of murder and aggravated robbery that both men originally faced.
"The victim's family has been extensively involved throughout the entire preparation and presentation of the case. They were both understanding and supportive of the resolution in the Bowser and Odom cases," LoStracco said in a statement to the press.
Because the third defendant connected to the killing, Marlon Randle, 27, is scheduled to go to trial before a jury on Nov. 16., the district attorney said she is not at liberty to comment on the facts of the case, the reasoning behind the plea bargains or the potential witnesses expected to testify before a jury.
Speaking after Thursday's proceedings, Bowser's defense attorney Stephanie Stephens told The Daily Sentinel, "Okeiron is taking responsibility for what he believes his involvement was and obviously what the state thinks his involvement was. It's a tough call for a young man like him to make, but hopefully he will get up to TDCJ (Texas Department of Criminal Justice) and do very well and parole out."
Frazar was shot to death inside his Cambridge Court apartment earlier this year in what police have described as a drug deal gone wrong.
But while authorities arrested the three men for the crime, they have yet to say publicly who they think brought the weapon to the apartment and who actually fired the fatal shot.
Police have said that the violence apparently began when the three men allegedly attempted to steal marijuana from Frazar and his brother, Tyler, who were allegedly selling it from their apartment. Once inside, police then say that one of the three pulled a gun out, and in retaliation, Frazar produced a large knife and began attacking Randle and Bowser.
In the ensuing scuffle, Frazar was mortally shot, but before he died, reports say that he managed to get a hold of the weapon and fire one round into Randle, who survived his wound after spending days in the hospital.
As of Thursday, Randle is now the only defendant still being charged with murder. But in an official affidavit filed in August, Randle and others on his behalf say that he did not shoot Frazar.
The affidavits were filed as part of an official request that the trial be moved out of the county claiming that press releases issued by the district attorney and the Nacogdoches Police Department were "biased and one-sided." However, the request for a change of venue was withdrawn in October.
Nevertheless, the affidavits offer a different version of what took place at Frazer's apartment. Randle admits in the notarized affidavit that he did go to Frazar's apartment to buy marijuana but did not know who brought the gun.
The affidavits go on to say that Frazar "decided to short the deal" by not giving Randle the amount of marijuana that he had paid for, and when Frazar was asked to weigh out the marijuana, Frazar attacked Randle with the knife, stabbing him repeatedly in the back, chest and stomach.
And according to the documents, no "powder burns" were found on Randle's s clothing, backing up his claim that he was not the shooter.
