MAN CHARGED IN THE DEATH OF EDMOND OFFICER DIES

Jay Fite, on October 18, appeared before a judge in a wheelchair. Fite died awaiting trial for an Edmond police officer's death.

OKLAHOMA CITY –

The man accused of hitting and killing an Emond police officer with a truck has died, according to his attorney.

55-year-old Jay Fite had been charged in the death of Officer CJ Nelson after Fite was found to have meth in his system during a crash in July of 2022. Police say Fite was behind the wheel of a pickup that hit and killed Officer Nelson who was stopped at a red light near Comfort Drive.

A judge was set to revoke Fite’s bond and send him back to jail for failing to charge his ankle monitor. An attorney for Fite confirmed that he died overnight while in hospice care. The exact cause of death has not been released but it is assumed to be related to his recent cancer diagnosis.

Story Timeline: Edmond Police Officer Killed In Crash

Jay Fite was arrested on complaints of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree murder in July 2022.

Investigators said Fite had meth and other drugs in his system when he crashed into Nelson. According to an arrest affidavit, Fite told police “he was overworked and very tired” and admitted he was “going too fast and was not able to stop” before the crash.

Jay Fite March, 2023.

In March of 2023, the state filed to amend those charges dismissing the second-degree murder charge. At the time, Fite’s Attorney Billy Coyle said that dismissal was the appropriate thing to do.

“We think murder in the second degree was an overcharge, but we also felt like it was best to get rid of that charge,” Coyle said.

In September, Jay Fite was medically released from jail into house arrest due to illness. During that time, records show Fite had failed to charge his ankle monitor in October violating his bond.

On October 18, Fite appeared before a judge in a wheelchair. He was at that point, under his father’s care in Lawton following a cancer diagnosis. The defense requested that the judge lift Fite’s mandated drug testing, which required him to travel to Oklahoma City.

The judge denied the motion and warned Fite she’d order his return to jail if he violated the terms of his release. The directives were outlined in four pages that Fite signed and initialed back in September.

As per the ankle monitor guidelines, Fite agreed to charge his GPS device at least two hours a day which new filings show he failed to do on October 27. In court filings made public Monday Fite ignored three alerts to charge it, and the device went dead for 1 hour and 36 minutes. Records showed

Fite charged it only after someone monitoring his GPS contacted his father.