Published: October 10, 2009 10:33 pm         

Murderer of Okarche family up for parole

Murderer Glen Burton Ake is among the 21 inmates in District Attorney Cathy Stocker’s district seeking clemency this month from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

Ake was convicted of the Oct. 15, 1979, murders of the Rev. Richard B. Douglass and his wife, Marilyn, in Canadian County. He also was convicted in the shootings of the couple’s children Brooks and Leslie, then 16 and 12.

Ake and his accomplice, Steven Keith Hatch, were working at a Garfield County oil field when they took a co-worker’s car, emptied their bank ac-counts and began a multi-state crime spree, Stocker said.

The pair had already committed a robbery against a family in Kingfisher County and were driving on county rods when they came across the Douglas’ rural home, east of Okarche.

Ake knocked on the door, pretending to need to use the phone. Ake, armed with a .357 revolver, and Hatch, who waited outside the home with a shotgun, entered the home and hog tied Brooks and his parents in the living room of the family’s home. Ake forced Leslie to take the two men through the home, looking for money and valuables, then tying Leslie along with her family.

The two men then planned shooting the Douglases, within earshot of the family, Stocker said. As Marilyn begged for her family’s lives, Ake told Hatch to go outside, turn the car around and “listen for the sound.”

Ake then shot all four Douglasses in the back, before leaving with $43 in cash and the wedding rings from the couple.

Marilyn died almost immediately as a result of the gunshot wound. Rev. Douglass’ death was caused by a combination of the gunshots he received and strangulation from the manner in which he was bound. Leslie and Brooks untied themselves and drove to the nearby home of a doctor and family friend for medical attention.

Ake and Hatch were apprehended in Colorado following a month-long crime spree which took them through Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and much of the western half of the United States.

District Attorney Cathy Stocker said the men turned around and began to head back toward Oklahoma when they learned the children had survived the shootings.

Ake was tried by a Canadian County jury in 1980, found guilty and received two death sentences for the murder of Douglass and Marilyn and two 500-year sentences for shooting Brooks and Leslie. The Court of Criminal Appeals later confirmed Ake’s convictions and sentences.

In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the convictions, stating Ake was not provided a psychologist before his trial and ordered a new trial.

Ake was retried in 1986 and was again found guilty. This time, the jury recommended two life sentences for the murders and two 200-year sentences.

He is now being considered for parole on the first life sentence for the murder of Richard Douglass and is seeking parole to his second consecutive life sentence.

Ake has been denied parole three times on his last case: in 1994, in 1999 and again in 2006. Hatch was executed in 1996.

Others being considered for parole this month include:

• Tony V. Allison, on a five-year sentence for possession of a firearm after former conviction of two felonies in Garfield County. Received: April 13, 2007.

• Aaron L. Benshoof, on a five-year sentence, with two years previously served, for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Garfield County. Received: June 12, 2009.

• Robert Biby, on a five-year sentence for larceny of an auto in Garfield County. Rebilled: Nov. 2, 2001.

• Sharon D. Buffalohead, on a 14-year sentence, with seven years previously served, for distribution of a CDS after former felony conviction in Garfield County. Received: Jan. 30, 2008.

• Albert Herrera III, on a three-year sentence for driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, subsequent offense, in Garfield County. Received: June 19, 2009.

• Eric W. Jenkins, on a five-year sentence for possession of a controlled substance in Garfield County. Received: Oct. 23, 2008.

• Thomas A. Knox, on a 10-year sentence for knowingly concealing stolen property in Garfield County. Received: Jan. 18, 2007.

• William L. Owens II, on a 15-year sentence for second-degree burglary after former felony conviction in Garfield County. Received: May 23, 2000.

• William L. Phillips, on a 20-year sentence for trafficking in illegal drugs in Garfield County. Received: Oct. 3, 2003.

• Dina R. Roton, on a five-year sentence, with 60 days previously served, for grand larceny. Received: May 7, 2008.

• Allan D. Brower, on a five-year sentence, with 597 days previously served and two years suspended, for unlawful possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute in Blaine County. Received: Oct. 23, 2007.

• Donald R. Sinclair, on a five-year sentence for grand larceny in Blaine County. Received: June 24, 2008.

• James R. Owensby Jr., on a 10-year sentence for possession of a controlled substance in the presence of a minor within 1,000 feet of a school or park in Grant County. Received: July 19, 2006.

• Chad J. Adams, on a five-year sentence for assault with a dangerous weapon in Canadian County. Received May 29, 2008.

• James K. Eason, on a 17-year sentence for uttering a forged instrument after former felony conviction in Canadian County. Rebilled: Jan. 1, 2008.

• Scott A. Frederick, on a 50-year sentence for first-degree rape in Canadian County. Rebilled: Dec. 4, 1994.

• David A. Jackson, on a 10-year sentence for trafficking in illegal drugs in Canadian County. Re-ceived: Feb. 15, 2008.

• Charles W. McCollough, on a six-year sentence for trafficking in illegal drugs in Canadian County. Received: March 27, 2008.