Attorney Calls For Charges To Be Dismissed Against Man Accused Of Aiding In Tulsa Officer Shooting

The attorney for the man accused of aiding David Ware in the murder of Sgt. Craig Johnson and the shooting of Officer Aurash Zarkeshan is calling for charges to be dropped.

Matthew Hall is accused of picking up David Ware from the scene after two officers were shot. Hall’s been in jail, charged with accessory to the murder Sgt. Johnson since the incident but on Tuesday his attorney asked the judge for bond to be set, and charges against Hall to be dismissed.

His attorney says Hall can’t be charged with accessory to murder because any assistance he could have provided Ware ended when Hall was booked into jail. He says Sgt. Johnson died 21 hours after Hall was booked, so the attorney argues that Hall didn’t assist in the murder Ware is accused of committing.

Hall's attorney does not dispute that Hall assisted Ware by driving him from the scene of the shooting and disposing of the weapon used to shoot the two officers.

Hall’s attorney is citing a 2003 case, Schoonover v. State, in his request to have the accessory to murder charge to be dismissed, saying

“The felony of murdering is compete when the victim is dead. This, to be guilty of accessory after the fact, the defendant must give assistance to the murderer after the death of the victim.”