(Stillwater, Okla.) A Stillwater man accused of fatally stabbing a friend in the chest Saturday night and possessing the drug, cocaine base, had admitted three years ago to abusing his wife, who suffered a broken arm at their home in December 2011, according to court records.
The accused killer, Kendell Paul Sparrow, 40, remains held in the Payne County Jail without bond on a first-degree murder charge in the Nov. 14 slaying of William W. Rivers, 31, of Stillwater. Sparrow has been ordered to appear in court on Nov. 23 with an attorney.
The victim was found lying in the street near the intersection of Tyler Avenue and Lewis Street with a large amount of blood covering his upper body when police arrived before an ambulance at 8:34 p.m. on Nov. 14, Stillwater Police Detective Cody Manuel wrote in an affidavit.
“Kendell Sparrow was holding pressure on Rivers’ wound and spoke with the officers who arrived. Officers asked if Rivers had been hit by a car. Sparrow said he did not know what happened to Rivers,” according to the affidavit.
When Rivers’ clothing was removed for treatment, officers saw a wound to his upper chest that was bleeding profusely, the affidavit said.
A folding knife covered in blood “still locked in the open position was located within a few feet of Rivers and Sparrow,” the affidavit alleged.
“Sparrow was not being questioned at the time, but made a spontaneous statement that he had pulled the knife out of Rivers’ chest,” the affidavit alleged.
When officers later spoke with Sparrow, he said he knew Rivers personally, “but claimed he was simply walking down the street and stumbled upon Rivers lying in the street already wounded,” the affidavit alleged.
A witness was located in the 800 block of N. Main, which is a trailer park bordered by Tyler Avenue and just south of where Rivers was found, the affidavit said.
“The witness said they were talking with Sparrow by their trailer when Rivers came walking down Tyler Avenue.
“Rivers saw Sparrow and made a comment about not being happy to see him,” the witness told police, according to the affidavit.
“Rivers then turned and began walking back the direction he had come from.
“Sparrow followed Rivers and approached him in the street where they argued and made physical contact with one another,” the affidavit alleged.
“Rivers collapsed to the ground and Sparrow began yelling for help,” the witness told police, the affidavit alleged.
“The witness approached and saw blood spurting from Rivers’ chest,” the affidavit said.
“Rivers was transported by the ambulance (to Stillwater Medical Center) and later flown to the OU Medical Center where he died,” the affidavit said.
“Sparrow was arrested and processed into the city jail,” where a small white rock that field-tested positive for cocaine came from inside his socks during booking, the affidavit alleged.
The men “were long-time acquaintances and friends,” according to a police news release.
According to Payne County court records, four years ago Sparrow was charged with felony aggravated domestic assault and battery of his wife, as well as misdemeanor counts of leaving the scene of a property damage accident to an unattended vehicle, and driving on a suspended license.
Six months later, Sparrow pleaded guilty to all three counts and was placed on a three-year deferred sentence with an order to have a minimum of 12 weeks of domestic abuse counseling, contribute $250 to the victims’ compensation fund, and pay $1,294 restitution for the damage to the vehicle, along with getting a valid driver’s license, court records show.
In that Dec. 6, 2011, incident, Stillwater Police Officer David Duncan was dispatched to the couple’s residence at 1:09 a.m. where he talked to the victim and her mother, according to an affidavit.
The victim said that “her common law husband of 11 years, Kendell Paul Sparrow, assaulted her with a steel pipe causing an injury to her left arm,” that was later verified to be broken, the officer wrote in his affidavit.
Sgt. Jeff Dillon located a hit and run accident one block away where Sparrow, while driving his wife’s car, hit a parked car, struck a fence and then left the scene, the affidavit said.
Seven years before that incident, Sparrow was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery of two men of Arabic descent on S. University Place in Stillwater on Aug. 2, 2004, in a case investigated by the Oklahoma State University Police Department.
That charge was dismissed by the prosecution on Oct. 4, 2005, “in the best interest of justice,” court records show.
If convicted of first-degree murder in the Saturday night slaying of his friend, Sparrow could be sentenced to life in prison or death.
If convicted of the additional count of possession of the drug, cocaine base, Sparrow could be sentenced to two years to 10 years in prison, according to the charge filed Monday by Payne County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Etherington.
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