Drummond: Claim of deferred prosecution deal for former judge not accurate

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Oklahoma’s attorney general is pushing back against claims he cut a deal to let a former Garfield County judge avoid trial for an alleged drive-by shooting—telling News 4 no such deal ever existed, despite claims from the former judge's lawyer.

The attorney representing former Garfield County special district judge Brian Lovell claimed in a June court filing that he and Attorney General Gentner Drummond had struck a deferred prosecution agreement, but Drummond insists there never was a deal, saying the state is still waiting on key medical reports before deciding how to proceed.

Lovell resigned from the bench on Sept. 10, 2024, citing thyroid cancer and dementia diagnoses.

His resignation came one-year-to-the-day year after one of his former bailiffs claimed she and Lovell had sex inside the Garfield County Courthouse.

The day after, on Sept. 11, 2023, Lovell allegedly drove to Austin, Texas, where police say he fired shots at five different vehicles during a road rage incident.

But Lovell’s earliest charges stem from February 2023, when Oklahoma prosecutors say Lovell shot at his brother-in-law’s home in the small town of Bison.

The state’s multi-county grand jury indicted Lovell on those charges in May 2024.

Last month, Lovell’s attorney, Stephen Jones, filed a motion in the case claiming he and Drummond agreed the charges would be resolved through deferred prosecution, allowing Lovell to avoid trial.

Jones said the two spoke by phone in April and “agreed the case should be resolved by a deferred prosecution agreement.”

He also claimed Drummond “reaffirmed” the deal during another phone call in June.

But Jones alleged Drummond’s office then refused to provide a written copy of the agreement.

“He’s saying we had an agreement with the state attorney general directly, not once, but in two personal conversations,” legal expert Tim Gilpin said. “Apparently, the attorney general’s office is differing with that. Now he’s asking the court to unseal his earlier brief and then make a determination whether there actually was a plea agreement or deferred sentencing agreement.”

In the court filing, Jones implied Drummond was backing out because of “political implications” that could come with letting Lovell avoid trial.

Drummond denied that in an interview with News 4.

“I hold Mr. Jones in the highest regard,” Drummond said. “We did have a discussion on what path could we go forward. We did not reach an agreement. The status of the case right now is he’s providing my office with the neurological and psychological reports of the attending physicians that will either bring light to the fact that the judge has a mental disability or not.”

Drummond said this isn’t a delay tactic to protect his political image—it’s simply a matter of waiting for medical documentation before deciding whether Lovell is mentally competent to face trial.

“Then we will make an informed decision on whether we go forward or whether we find a path to resolve this dispute,” he said.

News 4 called Stephen Jones to ask if he still stands by what he claimed about Drummond.

He said, for now, he’d rather not comment.