By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater) — An ex-convict, who moved to Cushing after he got out of prison two years ago, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of being a felon in possession of two guns, one of which was reported as stolen, and having marijuana with intent to distribute as well as possessing drug paraphernalia, all allegedly found in his apartment when a search warrant was served last week.
Carlos Staphon Miller, 43, who lived in Ponca City before he went to prison 23 years ago for kidnapping, remains free on $50,000 bail pending an appearance before a Payne County judge on July 9 with an attorney, a court official told KUSH Wednesday.
Payne County Sheriff’s Investigator Brandon Myers wrote in an affidavit that Miller was arrested at his apartment on S. Timber Ridge at 6:30 a.m. on May 16 after it was searched by a team of deputies, Cushing police, and an agent from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics for drug ledgers, a gun, ammunition and narcotics.
When the door was answered by a juvenile boy at 6:15 a.m., “I could immediately smell an odor of burnt marijuana in the residence,” the investigator alleged in his affidavit.
Two juveniles on a living room couch were released to a family member and taken to school, the affidavit alleged.
Miller, who was in the far north bedroom, “told me that the black 1911 pistol and a shotgun was in his closet,” the investigated alleged in his affidavit.
The .45-caliber pistol had been reported stolen when a man’s truck was burglarized within the last month, the affidavit alleged.
A drug ledger owe sheet was found in a nightstand drawer, the affidavit alleged.
“In the north hallway closet, Deputy Joe Harper located a black backpack. In the front top pocket, he located two pieces of paper “with numerous names listed with amounts next to the names,” believed to be drug ledger owe sheets, the affidavit alleged.
On a bathroom counter, Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Nack and OBN Agent Chad Johnson found a marijuana dispensary package containing green buds, a soda can with a hidden compartment can with green leafy residue, and two sets of digital scales, the affidavit alleged.
On top of the bedroom night stand, five bags of a green leafy substance in marijuana dispensary packages were found that had a woman’s name listed as the customer, the affidavit allege.
Inside the night stand, the investigator found a Red Bull can with a hidden compartment containing a bag of a green leafy substance in a marijuana dispensary package, the affidavit alleged. The investigator also found a digital scale and a quart-sized zip lock bag containing a green leafy substance that tested as marijuana, the affidavit alleged.
The investigator also found a salsa jar containing a quart zip lock bag with a green leafy substance that tested positive for marijuana, the affidavit alleged. The investigator also found a box of blueberry wraps containing 12 packages of wraps, two clear vials, an empty marijuana dispensary bag with residue, and two other plastic bags, the affidavit alleged.
If convicted of all of his charges, Miller could be given a life prison term plus 21 and one-half years, court records show.
According to the state Department of Corrections, Miller had previously been convicted of:
* kidnapping for extortion, armed robbery or attempted robbery, and possessing stolen property in 1995 in Kay County, for which he was given in 1996 three concurrent 15-year prison terms of which he served nine and one-half years before his release in 2005;
* possession of a drug with intent to distribute in 2005 in Kay County for which he was given a 17-year prison term in 2008 of which he served seven and one-half years before completing that sentence in 2016;
* using an offensive weapon in a felony, two counts, in 2006 in Kay County for which he was given two concurrent 17-year prison terms in 2008 of which he served seven and one-half years before completing that sentence in 2016;
* bail jumping in 2006 in Kay County for which he was given a concurrent 17-year prison term in 2008 of which he served seven and one-half years before completing that sentence in 2016;
* drug possession, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in 2006 in Oklahoma County for which he was given five concurrent 22-year prison terms in 2008 of which he served nine years before being released in 2017.
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