Sentencing delayed until May
Dale Denwalt and Derek Manning
Daily Elk Citian
District Judge Doug Haught has found Ronald Arganbright guilty of two felony counts stemming from his sexual relationship with a girl that began when she was 15.
After a short presentation of evidence Tuesday, Haught found that Arganbright had committed lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16 and used an electronic device to facilitate sexual conduct with a minor.
Sentencing was set for Wednesday, May 9. He was remanded to the Beckham County Sheriff's custody until his bondsman agrees to keep the bond open. If that happens, Haught will allow Arganbright to remain free until his sentence is handed down.
As a deputy sheriff calmly handcuffed Arganbright, he looked back at his family, who sat in the front row of the courtroom during the trial.
Any bond allowance between sentencing and an appeal would later be decided by the judge.
The prosecution agreed to drop a charge of "seducing an unmarried female" in return for the defense waiving their right to a jury trial. In a pre-trial hearing earlier this year, Haught dropped a charge of embezzlement by appropriation - aimed at punishing Arganbright for using his patrol car for acts not in accordance with his job description.
Haught heard evidence from both sides and privately deliberated for about 50 minutes before making his decision.
Arganbright was an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper until he was fired last year after an internal investigation. The four felony charges were initially filed against him after police argued that he committed lewd conduct with a minor and sent text messages of a lewd nature to the girl, who was 15 when they began their relationship. The relationship continued until after the girl turned 16.
No witnesses we called Tuesday, but both the prosecution and defense read a summary of testimony that they would have presented.
According to defense attorney Josh Welch, Arganbright would have testified that after reviewing his initial interview with investigators at the OHP, in which he admitted to certain sexual acts with the girl before she was 16, and then continuing that relationship with encounters in his patrol car while on lunch breaks, "he would have clarified his answers."
"He was never advised by OHP that this was a criminal investigation and not an internal affairs investigation," Welch said, adding that Arganbright felt compelled to answer the questions to keep his job as a trooper.