Tulsa Police Arrest Weekend Homicide Suspect, Look For Several More

Tulsa police arrested a suspect in last weekend's murder Wednesday afternoon. But they say the case is far from over. They're looking for another 8 to 10 men.

Tulsa had a murder Saturday morning and another one Monday night. Police say there are about 10 suspects connected to both murders, but the motives are completely different.

The man killed Saturday was an innocent robbery victim. The man killed Monday likely knew his killers and was in some sort of dispute with them.

Deandre Bethel, 23, was arrested for first degree murder and three counts of robbery with a firearm. Police say he was involved in the murder of 24-year-old Byron Ivory Jr. Saturday morning.

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They say Bethel has a vehicle matching the description of the getaway car and had a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun, which OSBI has done ballistic testing on.

Detectives say Ivory was sitting in a car with friends when a group of men came up, pointed guns at them and demanded their wallets and cell phones. Ivory's two buddies got away, but he was shot several times and killed.

Ivory was an assistant manager of a paint store and was about to graduate college. Police say he was a completely innocent victim of a senseless and random crime.

"There was evidence from the crime scene that Mr. Bethel had in his possession shortly after the murder," said Tulsa Police Sergeant Dave Walker.

Sergeant Walker says several of the same suspect names that have popped up in that murder investigation, have now popped up in the murder of 21 year old LJ Myers Jr.

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They believe that killing was not a robbery but was personal in nature. They say Myers likely knew his killers.

Myers was working at H&R Block on North Peoria and walked across the street for dinner when he was shot several times. The shooter continued to fire even after Myers was down on the ground.

"We're casting the net wide because there's a lot of names, so at least 10 we're looking at hard," Walker said.

Police say there's no doubt people know why Myers was killed and who did it. They hope someone will come forward with that information.

Deandre Bethel has a brother in the Tulsa County jail also charged with murder but in a different case. Terrico Bethel is accused of being the triggerman in the murder for hire of TU Hall of Famer Neal Sweeney back in 2008. His trial is set for this year.