By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — Ever since 28-year-old Dylan James Lee Lewis was killed by a gunshot to the head near his Stillwater trailer on July 21, 2023, his mother Rebeca Templin has thought of her son every day.
“All I want is justice for my son. He did not deserve to die. Every single day of my life has been hell since my son was killed,” she told a reporter for KUSH.
Mother’s Day was a nightmare for her.
Then four days later, she was in a collision that totaled her car and left her unable to work as a ride-share driver.
In court last week, she was in pain from all the bruises on her body.
One of the two men charged with first-degree manslaughter and moving her son’s body from the killing site to Highland Park School property walked into court on May 21 to see his case postponed for another month.
She was outraged to see the reputed Irish Mob member John Thomas Helfrick Jr., 32, of Stillwater, who had been released from prison about two months before he was arrested as a suspect in her son’s death, just walk free again — only on a personal recognizance bond, just a signature that he would return to court on June 18.
She thought that the current prosecutor J.R. Kalka might ask the judge to increase his bond, but that didn’t happen. She remains astounded that an ex-convict who could get two life prison terms if convicted could just walk the streets free, while her son is dead.
An attempt to reach Payne County District Attorney Laura Thomas to ask why the prosecution has not sought a bond increase for Helfrick was unsuccessful.
Three days later, Helfrick’s co-defendant Troy Allin Driskel, 29, of Stillwater, who was on burglary probation at the time of the killing, appeared in court on May 24 from the Payne County Jail where he remains held on $5,000 bail, to see his case postponed for another two months to July 26.
In an interview on the day after Memorial Day, the victim’s mother talked about how her slain son had tried to help one of his accused killers.
“He gave Troy food, clothes, shoes. When Troy was arrested, he was in my son’s clothes,” she said.
“Troy wouldn’t go to work. He wanted to live off other people,” like her son, who worked as a cook in Stillwater restaurants, she said.
“My son just cared for Troy. He stayed there (in her son’s trailer) for three and a half months. That’s a big burden on somebody,” she said.
According to testimony in a Feb. 20 preliminary hearing, Stillwater Police Detective Josh Carson said that he talked to Driskel while he was under arrest on July 21, 2023.
“He and Mr. Lewis were in an altercation over money. They were roommates and agreed to meet for a fight. Driskel asked someone to go with him.
“There was a fight. The other individual jumped in. At some point a gun went off. The other individual told him to hide the body.
“Driskel did not admit to the shooting. Driskel heard a gunshot go off. Driskel saw Mr. Lewis shot in the head. After the shooting, he said it (the gun) was in Mr. Helfrick’s hand,” the detective testified.
Under cross-examination from defense attorney Jodie Gage, the detective testified that Driskel never said he saw Helfrick shoot Lewis.
“Driskel was concerned that Mr. Lewis had a 9 mm. He had agreed to a fist fight. Driskel heard one gunshot. Driskel said he was scared of Mr. Helfrick. He said Helfrick threatened to kill him if he told anything about the gun. Driskel said he drug the body across,” the street, the detective testified under cross-examination from defense attorney Royce Hobbs.
Under direct examination from then prosecutor Patrick Crowe, the detective testified, “Driskel never indicated he actually saw a gun. The 9 mm handgun was the only weapon.”
Stillwater Police Sgt. Sherae LeJeune testified that there were voice messages on the victim’s cellphone from Driskel in an agitated tone that started about 1 am. “There were messages about wanting to beat each other up. The gun was located a couple months later at (abandoned) trailer #83,” in a shirt.
“I had an ATF trace on the gun — there was blood in the muzzle,” of the gun that was sent to the OSBI lab, the sergeant testified. The victim lived in trailer #81, she said.
Under cross-examination from defense attorney Hobbs, the sergeant testified that there were live rounds in the magazine of the gun, which was found in a shirt by the owner of the trailer park. The victim was the last purchaser of that gun, she testified.
When Helfrick was located at his girlfriend’s residence, “Helfrick said he was there. The gun was shot; the gun was thrown into the woods,” the detective testified.
“He did not take ownership of any of that. He had a fresh scratch on his arms, knuckles, consistent with a physical altercation. He said he wanted an attorney; I stopped talking to him. We collected his clothing,” which had blood splatter, the detective testified.
The victim’s mother said, “My son has never been in trouble.”
She said, “he loved his girls — he was a good dad.
“What about his kids? He was a very good dad. They love him a lot.”
