Hearing continued in officer death case
Apr. 20—A preliminary hearing for a man accused of driving a truck that struck a McAlester police officer who later died from injuries was continued to allow time for testing and reports to b.
Martin Rivas Rodriguez, 39, listed on court records with a Tulsa address, was charged in Tulsa County District Court with felony counts of first-degree manslaughter-automobile and causing a fatality accident without a valid driver's license in the death of McAlester Police Patrolman Joseph Barlow following a March 17 collision in Glenpool.
He was also charged with misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and no valid driver's license.
During a hearing held Wednesday morning by Tulsa County Judge Loretta Radford, the judge set a status hearing for May 31 for an update on testing of a blood draw conducted on Rodriguez following the collision and an update on the status of a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Rodriquez remained Wednesday in the Tulsa County Jail on an aggregate bond on $250,000 and a hold by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Barlow died March 20 at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa from injuries received in a head-on collision during an escort for fallen McAlester Police Capt. Richard Parker.
Several officers from the McAlester Police Department travelled to Tulsa on March 17 to escort Parker from the medical examiner's office to a funeral home in Wetumka.
The Glenpool Police Department said officers were notified around 6:27 p.m. on Friday, March 17, of a head-on collision on Highway 75 just north of 151st St. South.
A probable cause affidavit filed in the case states a Spanish speaking officer was dispatched to the scene after officers spoke with Rodriguez following the collision.
Rodriguez told officers he was driving a Ford F-250 truck "when a red car in front of him came to a stop," the affidavit states.
"Rodriguez said he braked suddenly which caused the F-250 to depart the roadway and strike the McAlester PD unit," the affidavit states.
According to the court documents filed by the Tulsa County DA's Office, Rodriguez "drove his car into the center lane of the road and hit the guardrail, causing the vehicle to launch into the air and collide head-on with a police vehicle being operated by McAlester Police Officer Joseph Barlow."
Court documents state after Rodriguez was cuffed, the man refused to give officers his date of birth "for several minutes."
After Rodriguez was read his Miranda Warning and the implied consent "a blood specimen was taken on the scene by EMSA," according to court documents.
New court documents filed in the case show an order of release for Rodriguez was issued by the Tulsa County Court Clerk's Office on March 18 after a woman posted Rodriguez's original bond of $3,000. The hold issued by ICE prevented his release. A bond of $75,000 was set during Rodriguez's arraignment before prosecutors asked for a higher bond due to Rodriguez being "an extreme flight risk."
