ENID, OK – A judge from Oklahoma, who is currently awaiting trial for allegedly firing at parked cars and causing a rear-end collision in Texas, is now facing charges in his home state. The charges are related to an incident where he allegedly fired shots into his brother-in-law’s residence six months prior to the reported road rage incident.
Garfield County Associate District Judge Brian Lovell, 59, was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday on two felony counts related to a drive-by shooting incident, as per the announcement made by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. The charges could lead to a minimum of two years in prison if convicted.
Stephen Jones, Lovell’s defense attorney, stated that Lovell would not plead guilty and would strongly defend himself against the new charges. Jones expressed his belief that the evidence collected so far is insufficient to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Lovell has committed any offense.
On February 12, 2023, Kenneth Markes, Lovell’s brother-in-law, reported an incident where someone fired at least five shots at his occupied home in Bison, resulting in damage to a window, wall, and oven. However, no one inside the house was injured. A bullet and five .40-caliber shell casings were found at the scene. Two days later, Lovell reported that a .40-caliber pistol had been stolen from his pickup.
Lovell has been on leave from his judicial duties since his arrest in Austin in September. He was charged with allegedly driving into the rear of a woman’s vehicle, about 90 minutes after officers responded to reports of a man firing at parked vehicles. Lovell and his SUV matched the description of the shooter. He is due for a hearing on the Texas charges in June.
Lovell informed Austin police that the woman had cut him off in traffic, but did not admit that the ensuing collisions were intentional. He admitted to carrying two handguns in his vehicle, but claimed ignorance about why he would have fired his gun, and could not recall any part of the shooting incident.
Oklahoma investigators allege that Lovell used the same .40-caliber gun in both shootings, despite having reported that the weapon was stolen. Neither indictment suggests a motive behind the alleged shootings.
Paul Woodward, the administrative judge for Garfield County, confirmed that Lovell agreed to not preside over any cases until his own charges are resolved.