Defendant In Officer's Death Convicted Of Second-Degree Murder

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A man accused in the death of an Oklahoma City police officer in a chase-related crash was found guilty Friday of second-degree murder.<br/> <br/>An Oklahoma county jury recommended

Friday, January 26th 2007, 9:15 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A man accused in the death of an Oklahoma City police officer in a chase-related crash was found guilty Friday of second-degree murder.

An Oklahoma county jury recommended that Kyle Wayne Grider serve 45 years in prison for the death of Oklahoma City police Sergeant Jonathan dragus.

Dragus died as Grider fled on a stolen motorcycle on October 20th, 2005. He lost control of his car as he pursued the fleeing motorcycle, which had been reported stolen a couple of days earlier.

Prosecutors say that Dragus, a 10-year police veteran, wouldn't have been driving at speeds up to 122 miles per hour if he hadn't been chasing Grider.

Attorneys for Grider argued Dragus crashed when he tried to avoid a pickup truck that pulled a few feet into the intersection during the pursuit.