By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 17-year-old boy accused of firing a pistol from a pickup truck in which he was a passenger in Stillwater at 2:42 am on Sept. 29 has been ordered held in a juvenile detention center on $50,000 bail pending a Nov. 5 preliminary hearing before a Payne County judge, public records show.
Joel Lucas Hunsaker, whose address was not listed in court records, was charged as a youthful offender with intentional discharge of a firearm from a motor vehicle with disregard for the safety of others and assault and battery with a firearm at a male, which are both felony counts.
The alleged adult driver, Nathan Ross Smith, 20, of Pawnee, was charged as Hunsaker’s co-defendant only with intentional discharge of a firearm from a motor vehicle, a felony punishable by two years to life in prison on conviction, court records show. Smith was freed on $15,000 bail pending a Dec. 4 court appearance with an attorney.
The pair were arrested at 3 am on Sept. 29 at Lakeview Rd, according to an affidavit by Stillwater Police Officer Robbie Frazier, who was sent about 15 minutes earlier to the 1200 block of W. 3rd Ave. on a report of an assault with a dangerous weapon.
A male said that “a beat-up darker-colored extended cab pickup drove by, and the passenger was yelling at them. He stated the vehicle stopped on Garfield just north of 3rd Ave. across the intersection from the house he was at, and then the driver opened the door.
(He) “stated they walked off the porch to the sidewalk, and the driver shut the door and started to drive off, but as the vehicle was leaving, the passenger leaned out the window and shot a gun at them,” the affidavit alleged.
(He) “stated they noticed what looked like a bullet hitting the ground in front of them throwing up sparks, and then he was struck by either the bullet ricocheting or shrapnel in the left side of his hip. (He) showed me where he was hit, and it was not bleeding, but there was a fresh small impact bruise that appeared to have been caused by being struck by a small object,” Officer Frazier alleged in his affidavit.
“Officer Mobus spoke with another witness, who described the same incident and same vehicle. Sgt. Hansen advised an OSU unit had followed a pickup matching the description from campus to Lakeview, where a traffic stop had been made on the vehicle.
“Sgt. Hansen advised the driver of the vehicle had told him about the altercation and that his passenger had fired a firearm at the subjects at the house on 3rd Ave. Sgt. Hansen advised a 9mm pistol was found in the vehicle as well,” the affidavit alleged.
