(Stillwater, Okla.) – A Payne County jury deliberated for 11 and one-half hours before announcing it could not reach a unanimous verdict in the first-degree murder trial of a Stillwater man, who claimed he fatally shot his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend in self-defense during a confrontation outside a Stillwater house where a birthday party was being held on Aug. 12, 2016.
The jury panel, which was composed of eight women and four men, said that it was deadlocked 7 to 5, Payne County Court Clerk Lori Allen said Tuesday.
A mistrial was declared at 10:15 p.m. on Monday by District Judge Phillip Corley, who ordered the defendant, Robert Eugene Keeler Jr., 24, to return to court on Dec. 12 for a pre-trial hearing. The judge scheduled Keeler’s new trial to begin on Feb. 26, 2018, court records show.
Keeler, who called 911, told jurors at his trial last week that he was acting in self-defense when he fired multiple shots from a 9 mm pistol at Perry resident Austin Lee Clavin, 23, who died at the scene, according to an affidavit by Stillwater Police Detective Inspector Greg Miller.
Keeler was held in the Payne County Jail without bail for five months until Corley set his bond at $500,000, which was posted in cash on Jan. 30. Keeler faces a life prison term if convicted of first-degree murder.
While the jurors were deliberating, they asked to come into the courtroom to re-watch the defendant’s interview with the Stillwater police detective, which they did on Monday afternoon, a court official said.
In his closing argument on Monday morning, Payne County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Etherington told the jury, “There’s nothing right about this. He shoots him dead square in the chest.”
Prosecutor Debra Vincent reminded the jury in her closing argument Monday morning that the detective told the defendant, “You shot an unarmed man.”
The victim “walked toward the defendant while saying words. He didn’t have the bat when he was approaching the defendant,” who admitted “he saw Austin hand something off,” Vincent told jurors.
The defendant “testified he knew Austin was coming to the party. He (the defendant) had a chance to leave. He certainly had time to get in that truck and call 911. He could have decided to say, ‘Buddy, don’t take a step further because I’ve got a gun,” Vincent told jurors.
The prosecutor described the victim as a “drunk, disappointed young man who had no weapon.” She said, “We know the bat was found in the house.”
“When he (the defendant) saw him (the victim) coming, he shot to kill. Pretty much as soon as he got to that truck, he got that gun and got it out of the holster. He had a gun — nobody else did,” the prosecutor told jurors.
But defense attorney Cheryl Ramsey characterized the defendant as “a very responsible young man,” who had served in the military and was carrying his gun legally.
“This is a tragedy for all the people involved. Austin was not invited,” to the birthday party, but taken there by another man, Ramsey told the jury.
“Mr. Clavin gets out of the truck. The first thing he does is throw a can of beer at Mr. Keeler’s truck,” the defense attorney told the jury.
Pointing to photographs of the scene, she said, “Look at how dented that can of beer is. That’s what started all this. They (the defendant and his girlfriend) had three minutes after they knew he (the victim) was coming.
“Mr. Keeler testified Mr. Clavin got out of that truck with a bat in his hand. Mr. Keeler testified Mr. Clavin was coming at him very quickly – he said, ‘stop, don’t come any closer.’ Mr. Clavin was at Mr. Keeler and threatening to kill him,” the defense attorney told the jury.
“Mr. Keeler still had eight bullets in his gun. He was shooting him to stop him, not to kill him. The testimony is undisputed that Mr. Keeler called 911. He stayed in his truck until police arrived.
“Mr. Keeler didn’t want to fight. Mr. Clavin had threatened him numerous times. Everything went well until Mr. Clavin arrived.
“Mr. Keeler testified he had seen a bat in Mr. Clavin’s hands before – it was dark,” the defense attorney told the jury.
Prosecutor Etherington urged the jury to find Keeler guilty of first-degree murder and give him a life prison term, which would require him to serve 38 years and three months before being eligible for parole.
“You’re the ones who decide whether he was acting in self-defense.
“Was it reasonable that he didn’t leave when he had the opportunity?
“Would a reasonable person not tell him he had a gun – before you felt you had to shoot and kill him?” the prosecutor told the jury.
“Everybody testified he (the defendant) had a chance to get in his truck and leave,” the prosecutor said.
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