Judge Brian Lovell appears in a photo from Garfield County Court and a mug shot from Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
A judge from Oklahoma who is already dealing with a felony case in Texas relating to a supposed drive-by shooting and road rage incident is now being indicted for allegedly committing another drive-by shooting at his brother-in-law's house in Oklahoma.
The latest charges against Garfield County Associate Judge Brian Lovell, 58, actually happened before the Texas case in the 2023 shooting timeline.
Lovell supposedly used a vehicle to intentionally shoot a Glock 23 40-caliber pistol at a Bison dwelling in Garfield County that belonged to his brother-in-law, Kenneth Markes, on February 12, 2023.
Lovell's attorney Stephen Jones told the Enid News & Eagle that the defendant and his wife have fully cooperated, and the state's evidence is currently insufficient to lead to a conviction. Enid News & Eagle revealed that Lovell attorney Stephen Jones believes that the state's evidence is not enough to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt and that they intend to vigorously defend the case.
Jones reportedly said, “At this time, we do not have the discovery material which will be made available to us later. Based on our own investigation, the evidence is insufficient to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the standard, that he has committed any offense. We intend to defend the case vigorously, and during the course of the investigation, the Judge and Mrs. Lovell have cooperated fully.”
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced the drive-by shooting indictment last Thursday and said it was similar to a shooting in Austin, Texas, on September 11 last year, around seven months after the supposed Oklahoma drive-by. The AG said that Lovell reported his gun stolen two days after the February 2023 shooting, but authorities allege that was the same pistol used in the ensuing September 2023 shooting. announced The AG’s office stated that investigators allege Lovell used the same gun, a Glock 23 .40-caliber, in both the Texas and Oklahoma shootings.
As Law&Crime previously reported on the Texas incident, Lovell was accused of pulling out a pistol while driving an SUV, shooting into parked cars, and engaging in road rage ramming behavior. He was accused of twice ramming his SUV into a woman’s car in an attempt to push the vehicle into oncoming traffic in the felony case.
An affidavit stated that Lovell fired a gun about five times while driving and that there were bullet holes in parked cars. Video recordings apparently captured the drive-by shooting. As authorities were trying to figure out what happened, there was a second 911 call about a crash Lovell allegedly caused with intent. A pistol magazine was allegedly found in the driver's side door pocket of Lovell's SUV, and the gun itself was found on the front passenger floorboard, according to the affidavit.“According to video evidence, a witness, and the victim, it is believed that Lovell deliberately hit the other vehicle in the collision and got into a verbal argument with the other driver,” the affidavit said, noting there were two road rage collisions.
Investigators stated that the victim had stopped at a traffic light and Lovell almost pushed her car into oncoming traffic.
After being arrested, the judge reportedly said he couldn't remember anything about the shooting but admitted to rear-ending the other driver who had cut him off. Police said he did not confess to intentionally causing the collisions, however.
Read the Oklahoma indictment
An Oklahoma judge who is already facing a felony case in Texas related to an alleged drive-by shooting and road rage crash, is now accused of shooting at his brother-in-law’s home.
After his arrest, the judge allegedly claimed not to remember anything about the shooting but acknowledged rear-ending the other driver who “cut him off.” Cops said he “did not admit the collisions were intentional,” though.
Read the Oklahoma indictment here.