Waters awaits sentencing following jury trial

A few cases have been settled and one perpetrator is awaiting sentencing following jury trials that were held on Nov. 6 in Sequoyah County District Court.

Rusty J. Waters

Rusty J. Waters, 44, of Sallisaw, was facing six counts of child sexual abuse, one count of lewd molestation, three counts of rape first degree, and one count of rape first degree by instrumentation stemming from charges filed between Dec. 22, 2021 and Aug. 8, 2023.

Assistant District Attorney Stacey Slaughter said Waters pled guilty to his charges and will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 29.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case, one of the victims was still in diapers when the alleged sexual abuse began in 2012 and continued to the present. The victim told investigators that she wore diapers until she was about 6 or 7 years old because she wet the bed.

The crimes involved at least four different victims. The offenses continued until the minors were reportedly 13 or 14 years old.

There were also reported alleged incidents of Waters raping the minors against their will or consent at different times, according to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case.

Lee B. King

Lee B. King, 29, of Dallas, Texas, who was charged on July 23, 2021, with two counts of shooting with intent to kill, two counts of maiming, and one count of attempted robbery-first degree, after shooting two Arkansas men on Interstate 40 near Vian in July 2021, pled no contest to his charges.

He was sentenced to 35 years in the Department of Corrections for each count of shooting with intent to kill, 10 years on each count of maiming, and 10 years for the attempted robbery.

OSBI reported Lee flagged down the two men who were traveling on I-40, told them he was out of gas and needed a ride to the nearest gas station. The two good Samaritans, Derek Riggs and Jake Myers, both of Van Buren, reportedly took Lee to the Love’s car stop in Vian where they could be seen on video purchasing gas and a gas can for Lee.

Myers testified after returning to the vehicle, he got out to open the hatchback to retrieve the gas can. He said the hatchback was locked so he asked Riggs to put the vehicle in park to see if it would unlock. When he returned to the front of the vehicle he said he could hear Riggs screaming.

“I witnessed Derek wrestling across the center console fighting with the man we picked up (King) and I saw the gun in King’s hands,” Myers said. “I could see them struggling over the gun and I tried to open the passenger door but it was locked. That’s when I heard the gun go off.”

Myers said he believed a second gunshot struck him in the chin and Riggs was shot while sitting in the front seat. He said he knew both of them had to get out of the car, so he made his way to the back of it but then went back for his cell phone that was still charging.

“I knew I was going to need my phone to call for help. King was in front of the car and said something I didn’t quite understand because my ears were still ringing from the gunshots,” he said. “That’s when he said something to the effect of ‘if you don’t get out of this car, I’ll shoot you again.’” Myers said he retrieved his phone and ran from the car where he met up with Riggs. He said they hid in the tall grass of the median about 20 to 30 yards from where King was with the vehicle.

“But I watched him and knew Derek had the key to the car,” Myers said. “King then closed the back and ran into the woods with the gas can.”

The two injured men hid until an ambulance arrived. Myers said he did call 911 but couldn’t speak well due the gunshot to his face.

Riggs testified he and Myers were driving when they passed King, who was walking.

“We debated on whether or not to stop and help him,” Riggs said.

Riggs said he remembered feeling a sense of unease and when he looked back at King, who was sitting in the backseat, he saw King brandish a semiautomatic handgun. However, he said he didn’t think King knew he’d seen the handgun.

“It was then that I went into this crazy fight or flight mode,” he said. “I started going through all these different scenarios in my head and I knew I couldn’t leave because I had to save Jake.”

Myers was reportedly shot in the face but was still able to inform first responders that King had shot both he and Riggs, and then fled the area on foot. Riggs was shot multiple times in the torso area.

Authorities attempted to locate King in a wooded perimeter of where the two men were shot but later found he’d returned to the car, put gas in and left the scene.

Several motorists reportedly stopped to assist the two men, including an emergency room doctor, until Pafford EMS arrived a few minutes later, according to an affidavit issued by OSBI Lt. Shawn Ward.

OSBI was able to link King to the crime after the OSBI Latent Evidence Unit collected a pair of shorts with a debit card in the pocket from the Nissan. Police also reported finding a shell casing matching the gun used to shoot the two men.

William O. Reed

William O. Reed, 33, of Muldrow, was charged on July 12 and Aug. 2, 2022, with lewd molestation.

Slaughter said Reed entered a guilty plea and was found guilty by the judge. He was sentenced to 20 years in the Department of Corrections.