By Krista Duhon
news@joplinglobe.com
MIAMI, Okla. — A former Ottawa County man serving a life sentence without parole in a drug-trafficking case is back behind bars after the Department of Corrections apparently received a bogus court order for his release.
Richard Lynn Dopp, 47, was taken into DOC custody at approximately 2:30 a.m. Friday when state investigators retrieved him from his mother’s home in rural Ottawa County about a month after being released from his prison sentence.
Dopp, who was convicted of drug trafficking in 1998 and ordered to spend life in prison without an opportunity for parole, was released Oct. 5 from the Lawton Correctional Facility after prison officials received what Ottawa County officials said was a bogus “Modified Judgment and Sentence.”
Jerry Massie, a spokesman for the DOC, said Friday that the DOC has launched an investigation to answer the questions that everyone wants answered:
“How did it happen?”
“Who was involved?”
“Where did the document originate?”
“How will the facility prevent it from happening again?”
Ottawa County officials say the “Modified Judgment and Sentence” document in question displayed an Aug. 11, 2009, Ottawa County District Court date stamp as well as signatures of Judge Bruce David Gambill and Ottawa County Court Clerk Cathy Williams. It also notes a July 27 hearing during which Gambill ordered Dopp’s sentence reduced to 10 years with credit for time served — allowing for his immediate release.
The document was never filed in Ottawa County, and Williams and Gambill have said they did not sign the document, according to Ottawa County District Attorney Eddie Wyant.
DOC is not calling the incident an “escape,” but Wyant said Dopp walked away knowing that legally he had a life sentence to serve.
“I have no problem calling it an escape,” Wyant said. “He knew that there was never a July 27 hearing. He knew that his sentence was not reduced, and he chose to walk away from prison knowing that he was legally supposed to be there.”
According to Oklahoma’s On Demand Court Records, Gambill recused himself from Dopp’s case three days before the alleged sentence reduction was dated.
Gambill is among several judges who have had to recuse themselves from Dopp’s cases because Dopp names them in lawsuits, according to Wyant. He said that Dopp has repeatedly filed lawsuits and court actions in an attempt to get a reduced sentence.
Investigation
Jerry Massie, DOC spokesman, said there is protocol in place for verifying court orders and the investigation will determine where the procedures failed.
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