James Garland Wilkerson
(Lincoln County Jail file photo)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A bench warrant has been issued for a Cushing man who failed to appear in court Friday on charges of pointing a gun at his then-estranged wife and her male friend, sending her threatening text messages, and breaking two windows on her friend’s truck.
If apprehended and convicted, James Garland Wilkerson, 40, who had waived his right to a jury trial, could be incarcerated for 22 years, according to the four-count charge filed two years ago. Wilkerson had been freed on $10,000 bail on the condition that he have no contact with the alleged victims.
Wilkerson had been originally arrested at his residence about 4 a.m. on June 17, 2020, by Cushing Police Officer Jerrod Livergood.
The Cushing officer was sent to the residence of Wilkerson’s then-estranged wife at 3:17 am on June 17, 2020, regarding “a report of threats to kill,” his affidavit alleged.
The male friend of Wilkerson’s then-estranged wife said that he was at her residence 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 officer alleged in his affidavit.
“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.
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.”
The couple were divorced on Dec. 21, 2021, court records show.
