Cross Country : : Winged Foot Recap

We were at the John Whitelaw vs. Whitney Maxwell playoff together. It was a piece of wonder. I felt thankful to the wind or God or whoever who brought that fine contest near enough by. When they hit the ball, the sound traveled like a rifle snap out over the bluffs. When it was impossible to hit the ball, that is exactlly when they hit it.

My aunt grabbed hold of my fingers when the tension was almost up to a roar. The last two holes. Ah, John lost. I looked over the despondency of the home crowd.

Fools! Fools! I thought. Love the loss as well as the gain. Go home and dig it. Nobody was killed. We saw victory and defeat, and they were both wonderful.

From "Midnight and I'm Not Famous Yet," by Barry Hannah, in Airships.

Cross CountryHominy Murder : : Westbrook Competent to Stand Trial

An AP story in the Bartlesville Examiner today reports that after a psych eval, Roy Westbrook has been found competent to stand trial for the murder of Rebecca Clements. No word yet on when the trial might start. Clements was shot and killed in July. Earlier posts on this story, in reverse chronological order, are here, here and here.

Cross CountryHominy Murder : : Hominy Murder Update: Westbrook in Court

On July 19, Roy Westbrook walked into the Hominy Diner, pulled a Glock and shot waitress Rebecca Clements dead. The early accounts of the Oklahoma shooting were enigmatic; later came the clarifying details — it was all a real-estate dispute.

Last week, a judge in Pawhuska ordered Westbrook to undergo a mental evaluation. According to the AP account in the Shawnee News-Star, Westbrook told the judge that "the term 'first-degree murder' didn't make sense to him." Westbrook also testified that "he received Social Security disability and had a third-grade reading level."

Last year, Westbrook was named Hominy Citizen of the Year and honored by the local chamber of commerce and the weekly paper, the Hominy News Progress, for his efforts in improving a local park.

Cross CountryHominy Murder : : Hominy Murder Update

I'm way late in getting to this, but I wanted to post it anyway, especially since the actual details of Rebecca Clements' muder are so different than what I first made up on reading the early enigmatic account, which included the erroneous report that Clements was pregnant.

Clements, who was gunned down in cold blood as she waited tables in the Hominy, OK, Diner, was apparently murdered because of a real-estate dispute and a letter-to the-editor in the local newspaper. The man charged with her murder, Roy Westbrook, rented a house to Clements' sister and was having some disupte with his tenant.

Editor & Publisher talked to Ramona Brown, the general manager of the local newspaper, and got the story:

According to Brown, Westbrook spray-painted the phrase "get out" on a house rented by Clements' sister, who apparently owed Westbrook money. This prompted Clements to write the letter to the editor, which criticized prominent citizens for vandalism but did not mention Westbrook's name.

Once the letter was published, Westbrook, a prominent local citizen, appparently figured his best move was to head a pawn shop and buy a Glock. The full E&P story is here.

Cross Country : : Cops: Skiatook, OK

From the column "Felonies filed in Osage County," in the July 28 issue of The Review, a weekly Oklahoma paper "serving all of Osage County and Kay County." That issue also contained the story of the murder of Rebecca Clements.

Michael Ray Bush — Assault & Battery with a deadly weapon, assault and battery on police officer. Bush, 27, of Skiatook was charged after Officer Steven Haley was dispatched on July 15 to the Movie Gallery on Rogers Street in Skiatook in reference to a domestic in progress.

Dispatch then advised that the male half of the domestic was up in the female's face and the reporting person said that it looked like he was getting ready to hit her.

When Officer Haley arrived on the scene he observed three males fighting in the middle of the Hwy 20. He said it looked like one male was in a light blue shirt and was on top of a male in a black shirt. Another male in a rebel shirt was trying to pull the male in the light blue shirt off the other male. Officer Haley exited his patrol car and pull out his asp. He ordered all three mails to place their hands on on his patrol vehicle. The male in the black shirt and the male in the rebel shirt complied with the command, but the other male in the light blue shirt started backing away. Officer Haley told the male to place his hands on the patrol vehicle approx. 4 times before he complied. For safety, Officer Haley decided to pat all three individuals down because he could see that the male in the black shirt was bleeding from the face and when the male in the light blue shirt put his hands on the patrol unit, Officer Haley could see blood. Before he could pat the male in the blue shirt, he once again came off the patrol vehicle and started walking backwards. Officer Haley told him several times to place his hands back on the patrol unit. The male at this time stated a threatening phrase and Officer Haley then pulled out his OC spray and told the male that if he did not comply he was going to spray him. The male at this time made another threat and Officer Haley sprayed the individual and at that time, the defendant threw a punch at Officer Haley hitting him in the arm. Officer Haley grabbed him by the shirt and he pulled away causing the shirt to rip.

He then turned and started to run at which time Officer Haley tackled him. When he got the individual to the ground, he continued to resist and physically try to escape. During this time, the individual continued to make threats to the officer. He was finally able to get the individual handcuffed. Sometime during the fight, Officer Haley injured his left pinky finger.

Officer Haley smelled a heavy odor associated with alcoholic beverage about the individual's person. At this time, he identified the individual as Michael Bush. He was placed in the patrol unit. Officer Billy Wakefield had arrived and Officer Haley then went to the man in the black shirt and saw that he was bleeding from the nose, mouth and face and he looked physically shook up. Officer Haley called for EMS to check the man out. The man said that he and his brother were across the street and heard this guy, Michael Bush, yelling and up in this girl's face and they had walked across the street to see if everything was all right and the man had attacked them.

Officer Haley had Officer Wakefield to get everyone's information because Michael Bush was still acting very violent in the patrol car. Officer Haley started to transport Mr. Bush to the Skiatook PD and as they were leaving, Mr. Bush started screaming at the female. When they were about half way to the police department, Officer Wakefield radioed that the individual in the black shirt had been slashed in the face with a knife. When Michael heard this, he stated screaming that he cut him because the two men jumped him. Officer Haley then told him that he was under arrest and that anything he said could be used against him.
When they got to the PD Officer Haley asked dispatch to send Sgt. Davis to the PD because Michael was acting so violent. When he got Michael to the PD, he once again became very violent and threatened the officer. At this time, Officer Haley again sprayed Michael because he was getting ready to head butt the officer. It was hard to control him because his arms and hands were covered in blood. Michael sat down on the booking bench and said, "You think your tough because you can spray somebody. Watch this!" He then rammed the side of his head several times into the jagged edge of the booking table. He had cut his head open. Officer Haley called for dispatch to send the EMS over to the location and they arrived and treated Michael for his head wound. After Michael's head was treated, the officers found a cut wound on his hand from where he was holding the knife.

After Michael was treated he calmed down enough to be placed in a cell.

On July 18, Bush appeared before Judge Boggs by video and the court entered a not guilty please. Bond was set at $10,000 with status conference set for July 21.

Cross CountryWeb Stuff : : WiFi: Right Up There With Cleanliness

In case you were wondering, it's pretty easy to find a motel with WiFi when driving around the states. My wife, daughter and I just drove NYC to LA (78-PA Turnpike-70-44-state highways-25-40-15-10), and everywhere we stopped along the way we could find a motel with "high speed internet access," which is the phrase everyone uses.

It's not just the chains on the interstates: HSIA is more readilby availble in the outposts of Comfort Inn, Super 8 and the like, but many out-of-the-way one-offs have it too: Note, above, the Lodge USA Motel in Guymon, OK. I won't say Guymon is in the middle of nowhwere, since it sits in the midst of the instensely beatuiful Great Plains, but I will say it is off the beaten track: in the Oklahoma panhandle, miles from the nearest interstate. Still, the Lodge USA has recogizned that competitive demands require it offer free HSIA, a selling point right up there with that other roadside motel staple: "clean rooms." And at $35 per, who can argue with that combo?

A few more HSIA tips and observations:

HSIA almost always means WiFi. Only once in our travels did it come from a wall-socket.

HSIA almost always means free. We stayed in a Route 66-era motel in Kingman, AZ, which charged $5 a day for access. But then the room cost $40, so what's $5 more?

HSIA almost always means "in your room." Occasionally it means "only in the lobby," which, if you didn't clarify up front, can be a bit infuriating once you've checked in and are told "in our rooms we have dial-up." Oh. Great.

Cross CountryHominy Murder : : Law & Order: Hominy, OK

Front-page story from the July 28 issue of The Review, a weekly Oklahoma paper "serving all of Osage County and Kay County." The paper's motto is, "Where there is God, there is Love."

Hominy man arrested and charged with murder in 1st degree

Roy Robert Westbrook, 63, of Hominy was arrested at approximately 12 noon July 19, 2005 and charged with Murder in the First Degree after he entered the Hominy Diner at 111 W. Main in Hominy and shot Rebecca "Becky" Clements, 26, also of Hominy. Clements was transported to Cleveland Area Hospital and pronounced dead upon arrival as the result of three gunshot wounds to her body. According to the report filed in Osage County Courthouse, one wound was to the victim's mouth and the two others were to her upper body.

According to Investigator Harold Hughs, who was advised of the shooting at 12 o'clock noon, witnesses report that Westbrook entered the diner and asked the cashier working who a waitress was. The cashier identified the waitress as Rebecca "Becky" Clements, the victim in this case.

The cashier said that the defendant then left the diner and returned about 15 minutes later.

Another witness stated that she was standing next to the victim gathering dinners that were prepared and she turned sideways and identified Roy Westbrook as standing behind her. She said she heard a loud bang and turned and saw a black gun. She said she saw the victim fall to the floor.

She and other patrons began to run away toward the front door and she turned around and witnessed the defendant pointing the gun at them. She saw him point the gun in a downward motion toward the victim and fired a second time.

The victim had told this witness on previous occasions that she was about two months pregnant. However, reports have been confirmed that the victim was not pregnant.

After leaving the diner, Westbrook was stopped about one block west of the diner on Main Street. Located in the vehicle he was driving was a Glock Model 17 9mm gun, that was later discovered purchased from the Osage Pawn Shop in Hominy sometime between 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on July 19 by the defendant. The owner of the Pawn Shop also provided the defendant with five live rounds of ammunition for the gun.

Investigator Harold Hughs transported the the defendant to Osage County Sheriff's Office, where he was charged at the time with two counts of of murder in the first degree.

On July 20, Westbrook appeared before Judge Boggs in person and the court entered a not guilty plea. The defendant was held without bail after the court denied bond in the charge. Status Conference was set for July 21.