By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Cushing man accused of pointing a gun at his estranged wife and her male friend, sending her threatening text messages, and breaking two windows on her friend’s truck has been ordered to appear in court on Aug. 3 when he can seek a preliminary hearing on his felony charges.
James Garland Wilkerson, 37, was arrested at his residence shortly before 4 a.m. on June 17 by Cushing Police Officer Jerrod Livergood, court records show.
Wilkerson was released the same day from the Payne County Jail on $10,000 bail with the condition set by Special District Judge Michael Kulling that he have no contact with the alleged victims, court records show.
If convicted of two counts of feloniously pointing a .45 caliber revolver, Wilkerson could be imprisoned for as long as 20 years. If convicted of his misdemeanor counts of transmitting threatening electronic messages and molesting a motor vehicle, Wilkerson could be given as much as two years in jail plus a $1,500 fine.
The Cushing police officer was sent to the residence of Wilkerson’s estranged wife at 3:17 a.m. on June 17 regarding “a report of threats to kill,” according to his affidavit.
The male friend of Wilkerson’s estranged wife said that he was at her residence visiting when “her currently separated husband James Wilkerson showed up knocking on the door,” the affidavit alleged.
He said “they ignored the knocking at first, then the individual started knocking again,” followed by a crashing sound outside where he saw a man breaking a second window and then returning to a two-toned truck, the affidavit alleged.
He said the man “had a revolver-style pistol and was pointing it,” at Wilkerson’s estranged wife and him, the affidavit alleged.
He said the man “told him ‘get back in the house, mother f…..,"” the affidavit alleged.
He said he went inside to get the keys to his father’s truck he was driving, as Wilkerson’s estranged wife came outside, the affidavit alleged.
He said that she “exchanged a few words with the male outside while he was pointing the gun at them from the driver side of the truck,” and then left, the affidavit alleged.
He said that the woman told him the man was her currently separated husband, Wilkerson, the affidavit alleged.
The woman gave a similar account to the Cushing officer about what her estranged husband did — including saying, “I’ll kill you too, b….,"” the affidavit alleged.
She said she knew her estranged husband owns a .45 caliber revolver pistol “although she was not close enough to positively identify the gun,” the affidavit alleged.
When the Cushing officer made contact with Wilkerson at his residence, he came outside voluntarily, but after he was asked what happened, “he advised that he wanted to remain silent,” the affidavit alleged.
After Wilkerson was arrested, he asked if he and the officer could get his keys to lock the house, the affidavit said.
“I advised that we could although I would have to accompany him…James (Wilkerson) said that the keys were next to the gun on the chair in the living room,” the affidavit alleged.
“When picking up the keys, I observed a black revolver style pistol,” which was a .45 caliber six-shot that had six live cartridges, the Cushing officer alleged in his affidavit.
The woman “sent screen shots of messages she received from James Wilkerson just prior to the incident,” which were threatening, the affidavit alleged.
The woman was given a Wings of Hope card and told how to file for a protective order, the affidavit said.
That same day, she obtained an emergency protective order against Wilkerson in which she alleged, “James has on multiple occasions threatened to kill me or any man I date or bring around my kids in the future. Aside from pointing the gun at me, this incident unfortunately happens about once a month with the children present. This has went on since our separation in April of 2019.”
***
