Toni Hopper
The Duncan Banner
DUNCAN —
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part story regarding Charles Alan Dyer’s return to district court.
Charles Alan Dyer returned to Stephens County District Court Monday for the preliminary hearing on felony charges against him for child sexual abuse.
Additional charges were amended to Count 1 of child sexual abuse, to include Count 2 of concealing stolen property, which included a sniper rifle and a grenade launcher. Stephens County District Attorney Bret Burns submitted the request at the onset of the hearing, based on a rifle that was recovered in January during a search warrant executed by Stephens County Sheriff Wayne McKinney and his deputies.
Count 1 was filed Jan. 20, 2010, in district court, alleging that Dyer committed the crime about Jan. 2, against a child under the age of 18.
An immediate request by David Hammond, attorney for Dyer, was granted, when he asked that witnesses be sequestered during the hearing.
Witnesses included Dyer’s wife, a forensic interview counselor from the Mary Abbott House in Norman, and FBI Agent Gene Pool, who is now assigned to the Weapons of Mass Destruction division in Washington, D.C., but had been with the Lawton office during the time of the search warrant.
There was also the last minute request by attorney Jerry Herberger, who had been appointed by the court, to serve as the victim’s attorney, with much discussion centering around that motion.
“I’m looking at the computer here and there are quite a few paper documents that haven’t made it to file yet,” LaMar said.
“One is amended information I’m not aware of.”
Judge Carl LaMar ruled at the end of the day that there was sufficient evidence for Dyer, 29, of Marlow, to be arraigned on both Count 1 and Count 2. Yet, as LaMar gave his ruling on Count 2, he said that the evidence was scant, but that the DA did provide enough evidence.
“The State can certainly amend their pleadings,” he said. “Is it fair for the State to put Mr. Dyer on trial?”
LaMar even went so far to say that the defendant might not be guilty, but that there was enough evidence to put Dyer on trial and that it was not up to the magistrate to decide guilt or innocence.
“Was it stolen (the gun)? It’s circumstantial at best.”
The day actually began with a delay in the start of the preliminary hearing, as the State’s key witness, Jessica Taylor, forensic interview counselor with the Mary Abbott House, was tied up in another preliminary hearing at another county.
Few people were in the courtroom, mostly those directly connected to either Charles Dyer or his wife, whom he is separated from, Valerie Dyer. Later in the day, there was a slight outburst from the grandfather of a victim as he heard testimony from Taylor.
Dyer’s arraignment was set for July 29 in Judge Enos’ courtroom.
See part 2 of this story covering the testimony and other details of Dyer’s case, in Wednesday’s Banner.
— Toni Hopper is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. She can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 132 or by e-mail at: toni.hopper@duncanbanner.com.
