January 18, 2017
By Paragon News Director Paul Joseph –
Frank M. Hart of Clinton got out of an Oklahoma City hospital in time to appear in district court where he was charged with murder in the first degree.
The 18-year-old Hart was the driver of a stolen car in which a 31-year-old Hammon man died on a snowy and icy Friday afternoon in a Clinton residential area, two weeks ago.
31-year-old William Kasey Sankey was the passenger in the Infinite SUV and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hart was arraigned Tuesday afternoon inside the Custer County Courthouse. His bond was set at $1-million-dollars and, besides murder, he’s been charged with possession of a controlled, dangerous substance, knowingly concealing stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
The murder charge was leveled on Hart because Sankey died while eluding an officer by running into a tree at the southwest corner of 6th and Hayes, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Hart had injuries to his right leg and head and was sent to an Oklahoma City hospital arriving in critical condition at the time.
According to Clinton Police Detective Mike Murley at the time of the incident, Sankey was found in possession of three packages of Methamphetamine when he was pulled from the vehicle.
Murley says he and another officer were on routine patrol when they observed the white SUV at a local Clinton motel. It was backed into the parking space and the the passenger side, rear window broken out.
Clinton dispatch notified the officers that the vehicle and its Cheyenne Arapaho license had both been reported as stolen. The tag was stolen from another vehicle and the SUV had been reported missing from a dealership in Oklahoma City.
Sankey and Hart suddenly appeared out of the motel, got in the SUV and left, heading south on an icy and snow-packed 20th Street. Near the 1500 block of Hayes Avenue in Clinton, police initiated a traffic stop.
Instead of pulling over, the vehicle sped up to speeds over 60 miles an hour and eventually struck a tree.
Hart is due back in court on February 10 at 1:30.
– 30 –