5 area murderers to appear before board

Written by Malinda Rust

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board this week will consider early release for five area murderers and one inmate serving time for being an accessory to murder.

Comanche County murder convicts Robert N. Wilson, Rafael G. Tabares and James Lynch will be among the inmates whose cases will be reviewed between 9 a.m. Monday and Friday afternoon when the board meets each day at the Kate Barnard Community Corrections Center in Oklahoma city.

Wilson began serving a life sentence after he was convicted of first-degree murder for the March 13, 1984, death of Brittain's Catalog and Showroom manager Don Thomas. Wilson, 54, was initially sentenced to death for the shooting, perpetrated during a robbery attempt, but the decision was overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Tabares was a Cuban refugee working as a janitor at a nightclub in February 1984, when the body of Fort Sill man Joseph Phillip Howell was found on the floor of the club. Tabares was accused of beating him to death, then fleeing to Arkansas.

Lynch is serving a live sentence for second-degree murder and has been in state Department of Correction custody since March 1996. He began serving a life sentence in 1996 after being convicted of killing his longtime friend, Larry "Skip" Landsen, on Nov. 26, 1994.

Lynch, 54, testified at trial that he received a threatening phone call from Landsen the night before, during which the victim warned Lynch to leave town. The next day, the victim forced his way into Lynch's home. Lynch said he feared for his life and grabbed a rifle; as the two fought over the rifle, it discharged twice, shooting Landsen in the chest, according to court testimony.

Another man to be considered for parole this week was initially charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Terrence O. Myers, 38, was accused of shooting James Dubose July 4, 2007, and leaving his body in a car outside a night club west of Lawton. Just days before his trial, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of accessory after the fact and was sentenced to 30 years with 10 years suspended.

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