Long-time OK judge arrested in TX for firing gun, road rage

AUSTIN, Texas (KFOR) — Long-time Garfield County judge, Brian Lovell, was arrested September 11 in Austin, Texas, and now faces charges of reckless driving and deadly conduct discharge firearm.

Lovell, who lives in Waukomis and works at the Garfield County Courthouse in Enid, was nearly 500 miles from his home with the incident occurred. News 4 is unsure why Lovell was in Austin.

According to the arrest affidavit, Lovell fired shots into at least five cars at the intersection of Matamoros Street and Santa Maria Street. Several cars were hit. Witnesses at the scene told police a man in white SUV was seen leaving the area.

OHP: Officer-involved shooting on Turner Turnpike

Austin Police got a second call of a road rage crash that took place about 1.7 miles away near the intersection of East 7th Street and N IH-35 Service Road. According to the report, Lovell slammed his white SUV into the back of a woman’s car. The two reportedly got into an argument then Lovell allegedly “intentionally” hit the woman’s car a second time and attempted to push her vehicle into oncoming traffic.

Police found a gun and magazine in Lovell’s SUV. When they questioned the judge, he reportedly told officers he “did not know why he would have shot his gun and could not recall any part of the shooting incident.”

Lovell was sworn in as a special district judge in Garfield County in January 2011. He was promoted to an associate district judge in January 2023. His long-time colleague, Judge Paul Woodward, spoke to KFOR. He said he wanted to know all the facts before commenting further but said he “had a lot of respect” for Lovell. Woodward said Lovell has not presided over any cases since the incident.

It will be up to the Oklahoma State Supreme Court to hand down any disciplinary action against Lovell.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.