Snapchat scam turns deadly when Bartlesville woman shoots intruder in home invasion error
A 23-year-old Bartlesville man was fatally shot Jan. 12 while breaking down the back door of an apartment after sending money over Snapchat for the promise of sex.
The only problem was that the person on Snapchat was a scammer from another country and the would-be intruder went to the wrong address, according to Bartlesville police.
On Friday, Washington County District Attorney Will Drake told the EE he had deemed the shooting justified — while noting the case's unusual aspects.
According to police documents, a 25-year-old woman, whom officials only identify as A.T., was working on her laptop the morning of Jan. 12 when she heard a loud knocking on her door. The knocking turned into banging.
A.T. told police she had warned the person banging on the door that she was armed and would shoot them if they entered her apartment.
Shortly after that, the door gave way, and A.T. fired a single round into the body of James Allen.
After first responders arrived, Allen was taken to Ascension St. John Jane Phillips Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
In a statement, Washington County District Attorney Will Drake described the scene as harrowing.
"Door is off hinges, a broken door chain is located embedded into the door, broken chain locks are found inside the apartment, wood splinters from the door are found in the kitchen and dining room area," he wrote.
Drake said he ruled the shooting justified based on an Oklahoma statute that gives citizens of Oklahoma an absolute right to expect safety within their homes.
"When applying the laws of Oklahoma to the evidence from the investigation, it is clear the actions of A.T. are a justifiable use of deadly force. A.T. was faced with a person beating aggressively on the door to her residence. She gave a warning to the individual, which is not required by law," Drake wrote.
"A.T. then observed an adult male break through her residence door with enough force as to take the door off the hinges, a person whom A.T. had not known and had no right to be present in her home. A.T. then shot [Allen], resulting in his death. Under the laws of Oklahoma, A.T. was justified in her actions," he wrote.
The scam
A search of Allen's phone would help investigators put the pieces together.
The young man had sent money to a Snapchat user with the name of 'Laureyy20,' who in turn gave him a Bartlesville address where they could supposedly meet up for sex.
Those messages revealed that Allen arrived at the wrong address. Police visited the correct address and were unable to locate anyone connected to the 'Laureyy20' user name.
After a search warrant with Snapchat, police learned that 'Laureyy20' had contacted multiple other users with the same promise in exchange for money, leading Bartlesville police to believe that the Snapchat user was a scammer from a foreign country.
Bartlesville police say there is no evidence to suggest that Allen knew or ever communicated with the woman who shot him.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville man killed in botched meetup after Snapchat sex scam
