Dec. 13 – A McAlester man charged in June with shooting a woman in the head pleaded guilty this week as part of a plea deal in federal court.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Larry Keith Mickle, 49, entered a guilty plea to an indictment charging him with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm in Indiana country.
Mickle was originally charged in September with assault with intent to commit murder in Indian Country, assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to commit bodily harm in Indian Country, assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country, and using, carrying , brandishing and discharging a firearm in connection with a violent crime.
The plea agreement states that Mickle accepts responsibility for the crime “as required by the sentencing guidelines.” Prosecutors agreed to a two-point reduction in the offense level and if Mickle can adequately demonstrate his acceptance of responsibility to the court, prosecutors will seek a third point reduction for Mickle.
U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Edward Snow accepted the plea and ordered the completion of an investigative report. A sentencing hearing for Mickle will be scheduled after the report is completed.
An affidavit filed in the case says deputies were called to McAlester Regional Health Center after a woman arrived at the emergency room with a single gunshot wound to the head.
The woman told officers she was at home when she and Mickle got into an argument when the man grabbed her by the throat and choked her when she felt something on her head, the report said.
She “thought it was Larry’s finger until she heard a popping sound, and Larry let her up,” the affidavit said.
According to the report, the woman was unaware she had been shot and was taken to the hospital by a neighbor, where she was later flown by medical helicopter to a hospital in the Tulsa area.
Before she was flown to Tulsa, the woman told officers that Mickle owned “a cowboy-style gun” and she believed he shot her with it, the report said.
Officers wrote in their report that when they arrived at the home where the shooting occurred, they found the back door open and blood on the back porch.
A vehicle belonging to the woman was later found abandoned in Dow Lake, with two individuals telling officers they saw another vehicle pull up next to the abandoned vehicle and picked up the vehicle and left the area, the report said.
Mickle remains charged in Pittsburg County District Court with shooting with intent to kill, domestic violence and strangulation, and possession of a firearm after a previous felony conviction.
