Tulsa Man Calls On Clergy, Elected Leaders To Tackle Violent Crime

An 84-year-old man who was carjacked in broad daylight says something must be done about violent crime in Tulsa.

Bobby Eaton Senior says too many people are living in fear and he wants to see that change. Eaton was in his truck in a car wash parking lot on a Sunday afternoon when a man flagged him down.

Eaton rolled down his window and says the man offered to sell him cocaine, marijuana, or a woman. Eaton said he wasn't interested and that's when the encounter turned ugly.

"The next thing I knew, the door swings open and he starts screaming, get out of the truck and he jumps in the truck. He told me, I got a pistol right here, I got a pistol to your side. And, the next thing I know, I was out of the truck on the concrete, laying out," said Eaton.

The man sped off in the truck and Eaton called the police and was taken to the hospital to be treated for an injured head and hand.

"I don't believe in being misused like that and let the person get away, just being truthful with you," Eaton said.

Police found the truck and the suspect, Marcus Thompson, an ex-con who got out of prison three years ago. Records show in 2008, he got an eight-year sentence for assault with a dangerous weapon. He was out in three.

In 2014, he got a two-year sentence for assaulting an officer. He was out in eight months.

In this case, he pled guilty to robbery and got 16 years. He'll have to serve 13 and a half before he can be released.

"I have a background in my community of trying to promote things that are positive and to become a victim of things I try to alleviate makes you extremely angry," Eaton said.

He says too many people, especially older citizens, live in fear. He thinks its time to get tough on juveniles who commit heinous acts and keep guns away from those who shouldn't have them.

"These are the twilight years of their life and they shouldn't live in fear," he said.

He says when people are afraid to leave their homes, they're the ones in prison and that's not how it should be. Eaton calls on clergy and elected leaders to come up with solutions to the crime rate.