BY ANDY TAYLOR
chronicle@taylornews.org

NOWATA, Okla. — A Tulsa, Okla., man will return to Nowata County District Court on Friday, Aug. 13, after a judge determined last week that enough evidence exists to have the man bound over for jury trial in the vehicle deaths of three area people in May 2009.

Charlie Davis Strong, Jr., of Tulsa, is charged with three counts of second degree murder stemming from a deadly hit-and-run collision with two other vehicles on U.S. 169 highway near Lenapah, Okla., in May 2009. That collision left three people dead, including Gene Hobbs, age 70, of South Coffeyville, Okla.; Kyler Blagg, age 15, of Caney; and Kyler’s mother, Amy Blagg, age 44, also of Caney. The wreck also left several other passengers in the Hobbs and Blagg vehicles injured.

Prosecutors claim Strong was drunk at the time of the wreck and had been drinking at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Cherryvale, Kan., earlier that day. He was returning to Tulsa in a 1957 Chevy vehicle and was southbound on U.S. 169 highway when he was attempting to pass the Hobbs vehicle, according to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol report. The Strong vehicle allegedly forced the Blagg vehicle, which was northbound, to collide with the Hobbs vehicle. The Strong vehicle then left the scene of the collision.

At a preliminary hearing in Nowata County District Court on June 8, Judge Curtis L. DeLapp ruled that probable cause existed and ordered Strong to return to the courtroom on Friday, Aug. 13 for a formal arraignment, at which time Strong will enter a plea of innocent, guilty or no contest. At that hearing, DeLapp will determine a date for a jury trial.

Rick Esser, Nowata County prosecuting attorney, said several exhibits were presented at the preliminary hearing to prove the State of Oklahoma’s case against Strong. Among the exhibits were photographs of the wreckage as well as information about Strong’s previous criminal record, which revealed that he had five previous convictions of driving under the influence.

“Right now under Oklahoma law, five DUI convictions should get a person a minimum of 20 years in prison,” said Esser. “But, we’re pushing for conviction of three counts of second degree murder, where the penalty would be much greater.”