By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Cushing man with a long history of drug convictions appeared by video from the Payne County Jail Monday before a judge, who set his preliminary hearing for June 8 on a charge of being a felon in possession of a .22 magnum rifle.
The latest charge against Kevin Wayne Ledgerwood, 48, was filed after police were notified in March by Payne County Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Nack about a phone call that Ledgerwood made from jail, an affidavit alleged.
Nack said, “Ledgerwood describes a gun he gave Angela Hoover and asks her to sell it for his bond money. Angela Hoover is currently under investigation and is known to associate with the Universal Aryan Brotherhood. Angela moves methamphetamine and guns for the brotherhood,” Stillwater Police Officer Josh Carson alleged in an affidavit.
“During the conversation, Ledgerwood describes the gun as a .22 caliber rifle that is silver and black. He states the gun has two lights attached and has a fast twist barrel. Ledgerwood says the gun has a Simmons brand scope attached and it is ‘clean,’ meaning not stolen. Ledgerwood requests the gun be sold for $600.
“Ledgerwood states he has other guns as well,” in the phone call recorded by Nack, the affidavit alleged. “Both Ledgerwood and Angela are convicted felons and unable to possess firearms,” the affidavit alleged.
After a judge issued a search warrant for the rural Perkins home of Angela Hoover,” against the north wall of the far south bedroom, a Marlin .22 magnum was located matching the exact description provided by Ledgerwood. The rifle had two lights attached as well as a Simmons brand scope.
“Angela was arrested for possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction and trafficking methamphetamine,” the affidavit alleged. During an interview, she said “she received the gun from Ledgerwood and was supposed to sell it for bond money,” the affidavit alleged.
When a search warrant was obtained for her cell phone, “I observed a picture of the rifle on Angela’s phone that was obviously taken on her bed…I also observed multiple messages where Angela was trying to sell the gun to several different individuals on behalf of Ledgerwood,” Carson alleged in his affidavit.
According to court records and the state Department of Corrections, Ledgerwood had prior felony convictions in Payne, Creek and Lincoln counties for:
* marijuana distribution in Lincoln County for which a jury recommended a two-year prison term in 1996, of which he served about 10 months;
* domestic abuse in Cushing in Payne County in 2004 and 2005 for which he received two concurrent six-month jail terms in 2006;
* drug possession and being a felon with a firearm in Drumright in Creek County in 2005 for which he received two concurrent three-year prison terms, of which he served less than half;
* methamphetamine possession in Payne County in 2010 for which he received 10 years’ probation, one year of which was revoked in 2016 to jail;
* drug possession with intent to distribute in Payne County in 2012 for which he received 10 years’ probation in 2013;
* concealing stolen property in Payne County in 2015 for which he received in 2016 one year in jail followed by nine years of probation;
* drug possession in Cushing in Payne County in 2016 for which he received a concurrent one year in jail followed by nine years of probation.
His alleged associate, Angela Hoover, 40, has been jailed on $50,000 bail pending a court appearance today on charges of trafficking methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a .22 caliber rifle, court records show.
Hoover was arrested at 1:29 pm on March 22, about 45 minutes after officers with the Stillwater Police Department and deputies with the Payne County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at her rural Perkins home on S. Piney River Road, court records show.
During the initial search, a .22 long rifle was found in her bedroom; she was prohibited from possessing a gun since she was a convicted felon, the affidavit alleged.
In a further detailed search, authorities found — hidden in her bathroom floor vent — a stolen Sig Sauer pistol reportedly taken in El Reno, about 31 grams of methamphetamine, digital scales, packaging material and numerous Xanax pills, the affidavit alleged.
In a recorded jail interview, “Angela admitted to receiving the gun found from a friend, as well as admitted to selling narcotics to make money for bills,” the affidavit alleged.
According to Payne County court records, Angela Hoover had previously been convicted of methamphetamine possession on two occasions in 2016, for which she was originally placed on probation for five years in 2018 with an order to enroll in Drug Court, from which she was terminated in 2020, when her probation was revoked to one year in jail.
