An Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) report says that a parole from a juvenile institution was approved this month for Heather Sanders, 19.
Sanders was a co-defendant of Darrel Ray Miller, who received seven consecutive life prison terms for a string of 2003 robberies and shootings, that included the murder of Stanley Paul Silkey, a Tulsa convenience store clerk who was shot during an armed robbery.
A Tulsa judge scheduled another court review of Sanders case for Nov. 22. If Sanders maintains her youthful offender status and continues to follow her treatment plan, OJA officials must relinquish jurisdiction by her 20th birthday, which is Dec. 5.
Miller, 19, pleaded guilty in 2004 to one count of first-degree murder, three counts of shooting with intent to kill and three counts of armed robbery. Miller was sentenced to a no-parole life term for the murder of Silkey, 30, an assistant store manager who was shot in the head on Aug. 6, 2003, at a Git-n-Go in Tulsa.
Miller and Sanders were 17 when Silkey was killed. Sanders testified at Miller's preliminary hearing that she drove him from the scene of two robberies.
She was arrested Sept. 3, 2003, and pleaded guilty to robbery and accessory counts. She was sentenced in December 2003 to a 10-year term as a youthful offender, which meant that she would be released from custody within two years if she followed her treatment plan. With her parole, she will wear a global positioning system monitor.
An OJA report revealed that Sanders had completed all aspects of her treatment plan at the Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center in Tecumseh.
