
By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Stillwater man — serving the probationary part of a manslaughter sentence for causing the deaths of two of his passengers by drunk driving northwest of Cushing in 2011 — has been charged with dragging a game warden on the road, refusing to exit his vehicle, ramming the game warden’s vehicle, drunk driving, operating a car while his license was revoked, and running from an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper, all on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
John Tyler Slavens, 28, who was living in Perkins when he was charged with two counts of first-degree manslaughter eight years ago, has been jailed on $75,000 total bail pending a court appearance on Jan. 4, 2021, when he can seek a preliminary hearing on his new charges. If convicted of all six counts, Slavens could be incarcerated for as long as 18 and one-half years, court records show.
John Slavens’ latest run-in with the law came after OHP Trooper Anthony Harper stopped a red 2014 Chevolet Cruze in the area of SH 51 and SH 108 south at 9:09 pm on Nov. 28 that was being driven by Slavens’ wife, Aubrey, who smelled of alcohol and admitted to having a beer before leaving Glenpool, Okla., an affidavit alleged.
Asked who was with her in the vehicle, “She replied that it was her husband, John Slavens,” the affidavit alleged. Asked if he had been drinking, “she stated in the affirmative, but did not know how much he had to drink,” the trooper’s affidavit alleged.
After a roadside sobriety test, Slavens’ wife was arrested at 9:26 pm and charged with aggravated drunk driving and driving on a revoked license, misdemeanor counts on which she was released from jail on her personal recognizance pending a court appearance on Feb. 8, 2021, court records show.
When his wife called out to Slavens, he “responded in an aggressive manner,” toward the trooper, the affidavit alleged. The trooper told John Slavens “to return to the vehicle, but he kept approaching,” the trooper, the affidavit alleged.
John Slavens “appeared to be intoxicated as well and emotional,” the trooper alleged in his affidavit. After a standoff with John Slavens, “he returned to the vehicle and sped away,” according to allegations of the trooper, who “advised the OHP Communication Center in Oklahoma City the vehicle took off and gave the direction of travel, along with the tag number.”
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Game Warden Emily Long “located a vehicle, that had fled the scene of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol traffic stop, at the Country C Convenience Store at Highway 51 and Prairie Road at approximately 10:05 pm,” east of Stillwater at a gas pump, her affidavit alleged.
“When Slavens saw me, Slavens ran back to the vehicle and got into the driver seat,” Long alleged in her affidavit. Slavens attempted to prevent the game warden from opening the door to his car, her affidavit alleged. “At this time, some civilians came to the driver door and helped Long open the door,” the affidavit alleged.
When the game warden attempted to pull him out of the car, “Slavens turned the ignition on and put the car in drive while Long was giving Slavens verbal commands to stop — while Long was partially inside of the vehicle at the driver’s door. Slavens then accelerated and began dragging Long for approximately five feet and rammed Long’s marked unit with the car.
“Long reached for the ignition and turned the vehicle off and threw the keys into the parking lot. Long instructed Slavens to get out of the vehicle and Slavens refused,” the affidavit alleged. After repeated commands while Long was pulling on Slavens’ left arm, he finally exited and complied, the affidavit alleged.
The game warden instructed Slavens to lay on the ground and he was arrested, the affidavit said.
According to Payne County court records, in 2013 when Slavens admitted that his drunk driving northwest of Cushing had caused the deaths of two of his passengers, he was ordered to enroll in and successfully complete the Payne County Drug Court program under a 10-year deferred sentence.
Slavens was 19 when he lost control of his pickup truck on 68th Street, just west of the intersection with Mt. Vernon Road, and ultimately struck a tree — resulting in the deaths of two of his six passengers, Clarence K. Slavens, 21, of Perkins, and Kimberly J. Davidson, 38, of Cushing, on Oct. 27, 2011, authorities said.
Garry McKinnis, who was then Payne County undersheriff and the first officer on scene, described it as traumatic — occurring in the driveway of a residence. Four other passengers, Thomas A. Lumpkin, then 18, of Perkins; Brian P. Pineda, then 15, of Cushing; Angelo J. Pineda, then 9, of Cushing, and Johnathon P. Griffith, then 16, of Cushing, were treated for their injuries at a Cushing hospital and released, authorities said.
A year after Slavens finished the Payne County Drug Court program, he was charged with drunk driving in Stillwater on Aug. 7, 2015; when he pleaded guilty to that misdemeanor DUI charge three months later, Slavens’ deferred sentence for two counts of first-degree manslaughter was changed to a five-year prison term followed by 10 years of probation by Payne County Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler, who ordered that he be given substance abuse treatment in prison — from which he was released on May 16, 2019, court records show.
***