Cherokee County prosecutors have charged a second man with the July 2007 homicide of a Muskogee man.
Daniel Prentice Thornburg, 41, of Muskogee testified in April against Robert Lee Smallen, 57, also of Muskogee, concerning the July 2007 shooting death of Ronnie Hall, 47, of Muskogee. Smallen’s April trial ended in a hung jury and a mistrial.
Court records show it is reset for Nov. 16.
Thornburg told police after the shooting that Smallen was the gunman.
Assistant District Attorney David Pierce, prosecutor in the Smallen case, has filed a first-degree murder charge against Thornburg. Authorities say Thornburg aided and abetted Smallen in the shooting.
Thornburg is expected to surrender himself by the end of the week, Pierce said.
Thornburg claimed to be an eye witness to the murder, saying he and Smallen picked Hall up at Hall’s home in Muskogee in the late evening hours to drink beer and go to Tahlequah to get illegal drugs for Smallen.
An affidavit filed in Thornburg’s case states Hall had no alcohol in his system at the time of his death.
Thornburg’s DNA was found on beer cans collected from the murder scene in areas “totally inconsistent with Thornburg’s account,” the affidavit states.
In the 27 months since Hall’s murder, Thornburg has given several different accounts of the incident. He has changed several key details from his original statement and also added facts to put him in a better light, the affidavit states.
Thornburg denies any knowledge of the murder before it took place but indicated he could have called Smallen as many as eight times prior to their meeting on the night of the murder, the affidavit states.
Thornburg has repeatedly alleged Hall raped him when Thornburg was a child.
Cherokee County Undersheriff Jason Chennault wrote in the affidavit that he and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Ben Rosser hadn’t been able to establish any direct link between Hall and Smallen other than Thornburg.
“Witness statements have revealed Hall and Thornburg had several near violent encounters several weeks prior to Hall’s murder,” Chennault’s affidavit states.
Hall was shot several times in the head and body near an area at the conjunction of Lake Tenkiller and the Illinois River.
Smallen was held in jail for nearly two years from the time of his arrest until after his trial in April. During that time bond bounced from $200,000 to $450,000 and back to $200,000. After the mistrial, District Judge Jeff Payton set a $25,000 bond on Smallen, with the condition he have no contact with state witnesses except through his attorney.
“Thornburg’s version of the incident just doesn’t make sense,” Chennault said. “The fact is, three people were at Horseshoe Bend that morning, and only two left there alive.”
