Lack of witnesses means no charges for PV man

By Barry Porterfield
Staff Writer

May 08, 2008 10:12 am

— A handful of criminal charges filed against a Pauls Valley man last year met an abrupt end and were dismissed because witnesses described as key to the state’s case couldn’t be found.
Court records show the counts filed last September against Jesse Dean McKinley, 36, were dropped moments before the start of a recent hearing in Garvin County District Court.
McKinley had been accused of creating a potentially dangerous situation during a domestic related scuffle involving a former girlfriend and yet another ex-boyfriend of the woman.
No serious injuries came from the incident, but McKinley did receive four formal charges including such accusations as using a crowbar to threaten another person, domestic abuse and breaking into a residence in the 100 block of Fields Row.
All of the charges were dropped when state prosecutors announced efforts to locate an undisclosed number of witnesses in the case proved unsuccessful.
The case against McKinley started on Sept. 16 after law enforcement officers were dispatched to the local residence on the call of a domestic related altercation.
When officers arrived at the scene they reported hearing screaming and loud crashes coming from inside.
After the woman answered the door, two male subjects were ordered to the ground and handcuffed at gunpoint with one of them being McKinley.
As McKinley was being arrested he told authorities he had earlier forced his way into the local house because he feared for the woman’s safety and wanted to make sure she was OK.