By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — Two young men from out of town have been charged as co-defendants with severely attacking a man by punching him in the face, choking him and breaking his ankle in an early morning incident near the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater.
Each of the men could be given as much as a five-year prison term if convicted of aggravated assault and battery, which is a felony, court records show.
Hunter Ray Meadows, 22, of Nichols Hills, has been ordered to appear before a Payne County judge on Nov. 4 when he can seek a preliminary hearing. His co-defendant, Luke David Fields, 21, of Norman, was arraigned this week on the Payne County charge and ordered to return to court on Dec. 2 when he can seek a preliminary hearing.
Stillwater Police Officer Chris Howell was on bar patrol on the strip near OSU in the area of 3rd and Washington about 1:34 am on Sept. 14 when he noticed a large group of people about a half block to the west, according to his affidavit.
“I couldn’t tell if it was a disturbance or if it was just a lot of people talking. In the crowd, I thought I saw a male push another male, so I notified Officer Knox and began to walk towards the group. As I reached the southwest corner of 3rd and Washington, the group separated and began to move along.
“As Officer Knox and I were talking, a male and female walked up to us. I noticed the male’s face was covered in blood. He had about a one-inch laceration to his left eyebrow and his left eye was already beginning to bruise. The pair told me that the male was jumped by members that had been in the group of people and identified them to me as they walked westbound on the south side of 3rd in the area of Jefferson.
“They described one as shirtless and the other as having really blonde hair. I provided the details to dispatch and requested additional units to contact the other group. Officer Knox responded to the area and attempted to contact the suspects. Once he activated his lights, they began to run. They were eventually contacted in the area of the OSU Foundation,” Officer Howell alleged in his affidavit.
When he talked to the couple, “The pair told me that they were walking eastbound on 3rd, just west of the rear of Murphy’s, when the two males said, ‘f… you.’ (The victim) said he replied with ‘what did I do?’ (The victim) said the males then advanced on him and began to yell at him and (the female.)
“(The victim) told me that the shirtless male punched him and took him to the ground where he began striking him. (He) told me that he was able to get on top of the male and return punches when he was put in a choke hold by the male with blonde hair. (He) told me that he was unable to breathe and was close to passing out,” Officer Howell alleged in his affidavit.
The officer said he was then contacted by a man who had just pulled into a fraternity parking lot south of where the incident happened, his affidavit said.
That man said the victim “was jumped by the other males and did not start the fight,” the affidavit alleged. He said that he did not know the victim or the female with him, the affidavit said. He offered video footage of the incident from the fraternity house, the affidavit alleged.
Fields, who was identified as the shirtless male, and Meadows, who was identified as having blonde hair, were both arrested for public intoxication, the affidavit alleged. The case against the men was originally filed on Sept. 17 as misdemeanor assault and battery, but upgraded on Oct. 4 to aggravated assault and battery, a felony, court records show.
