Judge rejects request for new trial

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A judge has rejected a new trial request by a former Tulsa police officer convicted on two misdemeanor charges in the shooting death of his daughter’s boyfriend.
A motion to merge the convictions into one is pending.
Shannon Kepler was convicted Nov. 11 on two counts of reckless conduct with a firearm, but the jury couldn’t agree on a first-degree murder charge in the 2014 shooting death of 19-year-old Jeremy Lake. Judge Sharon Holmes ordered Kepler to serve two six-month sentences for a total of a year in jail.
Holmes on Monday rejected a motion for a new trial, but said she’ll consider whether the convictions should be one crime, reducing the sentence to six months.
While Kepler was in court, his home caught fire. Fire Capt. Stan May said the fire does not seem suspicious.