Person
A jury found Michael Kane Person, 31, guilty in September 1999 of fatally shooting 29-year-old Jonathan Keefe Taylor of Sallisaw, a father of two. Person was sentenced to eight years in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for first-degree manslaughter by dangerous weapon and two years for possession of a sawed off shotgun. In December 1998, after the death of Taylor, Person was taken to Sequoyah County Jail where he stayed until being convicted then transferred to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in 2000. Person was released from prison in December 2002.
According to the charges filed on June 18, Person allegedly walked toward James Walter Jennings and hit him in the face with his fist. Sequoyah County Deputy Roger Johnson reported the fight occurred at a campsite inside Tenkiller State Park and that Jennings was taken to Sequoyah Memorial Hospital in Sallisaw. During the investigation Johnson along with Aron Maib, Tenkiller Park ranger, took the witnesses to try to identify the person who hit Jennings. The witnesses pointed out Person. Maib and Johnson asked Person if he wished to make a statement concerning the incident and Person said no. Maib reported Person smelled of alcohol. Maib told Person to leave the campsite and the park for 30 days. Maib and Johnson along with the witnesses left the area where Person was.
Maib reported that later he received information that Jennings had a facial fracture from the blow to the face and that he was going to require surgery. After receiving a medical report from the doctors at the South Crest Medical Center showing Jennings to have a chronic facial fracture, Maib requested a warrant be issued for Person on charges of aggravated assault and battery.
Ryan Wyrick, assistant district attorney, said the current charges on Person would be filed with his former convictions.
“Because of his prior convictions he is being placed under the purview of the Habitual Offenders Act. With Person’s prior convictions, this increases the punishment,” Wyrick said.
The range of punishment for aggravated assault and battery could give Person up to five years in prison, but with Person’s former charges, he could face up to 10 years in prison. The arrest warrant is still active.
Person is a white male, 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighing around 168 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with knowledge of Person’s whereabouts or with information is asked to call the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Department at (918) 775-9155.
