LAWTON – Former District 1 Comanche County Commissioner John Donavon O’Brien, who was suspended from office May 7 after a multicounty grand jury recommended his ouster, pleaded “no contest” to two embezzlement charges reduced from felonies to misdemeanors and resigned from office.
Three other misdemeanor charges – two counts of outraging public decency and one count of committing a computer crime – were dismissed.
Special Judge Christine Galbraith gave O’Brien an 18-month suspended county jail sentence, which means if he completes that term without any further trouble his criminal record can be wiped clean. In addition, O’Brien was assessed $2,123 in fines, court costs, fees and assessments.
And as a condition of his plea agreement with prosecutors, O’Brien resigned his county office on June 4 and agreed he would not seek an elected office for 18 months.
Lawton attorney John Zelbst represented O’Brien during the criminal proceedings. Southwest Ledger left a message with Zelbst’s receptionist but he never responded.
O’Brien had been in office for only 16 months. He defeated Gail Turner, the District 1 county commissioner for 24 years, in the August 2022 runoff election and received the oath of office on Dec. 30, 2022.
The 20th Oklahoma Multicounty Grand Jury sought O’Brien’s immediate removal as a county commissioner “pending trial on the accusation for removal” that stemmed from five criminal charges filed against him on March 13.
District Judge Emmit Tayloe signed the suspension order on May 7, “it appearing to the Court from the allegations presented … that there is sufficient and good cause for the immediate suspension” of O’Brien from office “until final determination of this matter.”
District 1’s first deputy, Ashley Sanders, performed the District 1 commissioner’s duties temporarily before Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Lawton real estate broker Trent Logan to replace O’Brien until a successor is elected. Logan received the oath of office on June 3.
Stitt issued an executive proclamation June 5 that scheduled a special election to fill the District 1 commissioner’s post.
The candidate filing period will be June 17-19 at the Comanche County Election Board in the County Courthouse in Lawton.
A special primary election is scheduled for Aug. 27, and the special general election will be held on Nov. 5. If a primary is not necessary, the general election will instead be held on Aug. 27, the governor decreed. The winner will serve the balance remaining on O’Brien’s four-year term.
O’Brien was named in 5 criminal charges O’Brien, 55, of Elgin, initially was named in two felony embezzlement charges and three misdemeanor offenses in state district court.
One embezzlement charge accused O’Brien of using county- provided cell phone to make unauthorized personal calls “and/or sending text messages personal in nature” between January 2023, when he succeeded Turner as the Eastern District county commissioner, and June 2023.
The other embezzlement charge alleged O’Brien used a county-provided pickup truck to drive to doctors’ appointments in Oklahoma City “and/ or by hauling equipment for personal use,” and by using a county-acquired PikePass assigned to his county vehicle during his personal trips to Oklahoma City.
A misdemeanor charge of computer crime accused O’Brien of using a computer to “annoy and/or harass” a female former District 1 employee by sending explicit sexual text messages to the woman between Feb. 1 and July 1, 2023.
O’Brien also was named in two misdemeanor counts of outraging public decency by firing District 1 employees Mallory Geiger and road foreman Kenny Curry, 63, who had worked for District 1 for 24 years when O’Brien let him go on July 31, 2023.
The criminal charges were filed March 13 by Special Prosecutor Jason Hicks, district attorney for District 6. The District 5 D.A., Kyle Cabelka, recused himself from the case because he is the legal adviser for Comanche County officers. The Office of Attorney General Gentner Drummond lateraled the matter to Hicks, the chief prosecutor for Stephens, Grady, Jefferson and Caddo counties.
Grand jury sought O’Brien’s ouster The five criminal charges resulted in three multicounty grand jury accusations that recommended O’Brien’s removal from office.
• Oppression in Office. O’Brien was accused of “inappropriate and unprofessional comments and messages” to a former District 1 female employee, and firing District 1 employees Geiger, Curry, and Ronald “Tyler” Fletcher after they participated in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s criminal probe of O’Brien.
• Corruption in Office. This included two counts of embezzlement, violation of the computer crimes act, and two counts of outraging public decency.
• Willful Maladministration. That accusation encompassed all five of the criminal offenses O’Brien was charged with.
OSBI agent Alfredo Solis swore in an affidavit for an arrest warrant that he interviewed O’Brien and the commissioner admitted he committed at least two crimes. Solis wrote that O’Brien:
• “stated he used his county- issued cell phone to send sexual text messages to a female employee who worked in his office.” Screenshots from the woman’s telephone showed some of those text messages, including one that was sexually explicit.
• admitted he used his county- issued pickup equipped with a PikePass to drive to Oklahoma City “for multiple doctor appointments and to transport rented equipment to his residence for personal use.”
O’Brien wrote a personal check for $1,093.07 to Comanche County on July 13, 2023, Solis related. A memo submitted with the check “showed the money was for trips taken to Oklahoma City and other locations where O’Brien used his county vehicle” for personal reasons and during business hours, the investigator wrote. Real estate agent ‘threw name in hat’ Logan, who owns a Lawton- based real estate company and a flooring business, said he decided to seek the office when he learned about O’Brien’s legal issues.
“I already had an acquaintance in the governor’s office – a personal acquaintance – and I just threw my name in the hat,” Logan said.
He said he discussed his interest in the position with several people, including Josh Powers, chairman of the Comanche County Board of Commissioners, and those conversations led to his being put on a list of candidates. The governor’s office interviewed Logan, and he learned June 1 that he had been appointed the District 1 county commissioner.