Oklahoma marijuana grower shoots burglar dead, arrested for illegal grow, now charged with murder
06/11/2020 10:22 am PDT
via KFOR:
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) -- A man who shot and killed a burglary suspect at his business last month has now been arrested for murder.
Police say 42-year-old Daniel Hardwick was trying to break into a business owned by 33-year-old Larue Bratcher near 1800 S.E. 22nd when Bratcher shot and killed Hardwick at about 1:15 a.m. on May 26.
“He was trying to break in when the business owner, who was inside the business at the time, apparently opened fire with a handgun, striking and killing the man who was breaking in,” Oklahoma City Police MSgt. Gary Knight said.
Police discovered the business was a marijuana grow. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority and OBN said Bratcher did not have a license to grow marijuana, which is a felony. Bratcher was booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on unlawful cultivation of marijuana.
“It was about 480 plants, which comes out to approximately $1,500,000 of marijuana,” Knight told News 4.
The case was presented to the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office, which led to more charges for Bratcher, including second-degree murder. Bratcher is being held without bond.
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