Stabbing charges dropped against Tulsa man

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- First-degree murder charges were dropped Monday against a Tulsa man who said he stabbed another man in self-defense after the two had been fighting.

Clifford Eugene Moore, 37, was accused of murder in the Oct. 31 stabbing death of Johnny Lee Owens, but he claimed Owens had hit him with a crowbar.

First Assistant District Attorney Sharon Ashe said her office could not disprove the claim, saying Moore had "numerous injuries consistent with being struck by a crowbar" and that police had no witnesses to dispute the account.

Witnesses told police that they saw Owens, 49, and Moore fighting in the front yard of a house, according to reports.

Ashe said alcohol could have been a contributing factor in the stabbing.