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Betsy Mills and Ron Brothers. The Death and Cemetery Records of Lamar County, Texas, ReBroMa Press, 2008, http://www.lamarcountytx.org/cemetery. (12/17/2025)

THE PARIS NEWS, Mar. 31, 2005: 'HUGO, Okla., Charles F. Bennett, 38, of Hugo, Okla., died Friday, March 25, 2005. Funeral services are set for 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at South Central District Building with the Rev. Harmon officiating. Interment follows in Crosley Cemetery under the direction of Rogan Funeral Home.'

THE PARIS NEWS, Jan. 18, 2006, by Shalina Ramirez:  "Murder trial begins in Hugo - HUGO, Okla., A jury composed of four men and eight women began hearing testimony both for and against Gary Allen Fullbright on Tuesday as the 18-year-old stands trial for allegedly shooting a man to death last spring.  Fullbright, charged with first degree murder, is accused of fatally shooting Charles Bennett during a barbecue in Hugo on March 25, 2005.  The first day of deliberation began with jury selection followed by opening statements from both the prosecuting and defense attorneys.  Assistant District Attorney Joe Watkins told jurors they can expect to hear witness testimony placing Fullbright at the scene of the crime.  Other witnesses will testify to seeing Fullbright and his brother, Warren Coleman, leaving immediately after the shooting, he said.  The state also plans to call ballistics experts to verify where the shots were fired and how they relate to where Fullbright was seen standing during the barbecue.  Watkins said one witness, Darcy McCarty, will make a statement regarding a conversation he had with Fullbright in which the defendant allegedly admitted to having "gotten rid of the gun."  Defense Attorney Kyle McCallum used his opening statement to counteract Watkins' comments.  "You're not going to hear one person testify they saw Gary Fullbright shoot anyone," he said.  McCallum said the state will only be presenting two critical witnesses, one of which is McCarty, who was in jail at the time he alerted authorities of the alleged conversation.  The other witness, Eligea Holman, claims to have seen Fullbright and Coleman attempting to leave the barbecue after the shooting.  Court documents state Holman said he saw Fullbright holding a pistol in his hand with a brown paper sack around the grip of a pistol as he was leaving.  McCallum said the defense will present a witness who will testify Holman was at work at the time of the shooting, and therefore not able to have seen Fullbright leaving the barbecue.  Deliberations will continue Wednesday with the court expecting to hear testimony from individuals who attended the barbecue, law enforcement officials working the case and a medical examiner."

THE PARIS NEWS, Jan. 19, 2006, By Shalina Ramirez:  "Prosecution rests in murder trial - HUGO, Okla., The prosecution rested its case in the Gary Allen Fullbright murder trial on Wednesday, but not before presenting testimony from a cousin of the accused claiming Fullbright had been previously threatened by his alleged victim.  The events marked day two of a murder trial where Fullbright, 18, stands accused of shooting Charles Bennett during a barbecue in the 700 block of Sterrett Street in Hugo on March 25, 2005.  Darcy McCarty, Fullbright's first cousin, testified he had attended the barbecue and was standing with the accused and two other people near the porch of the residence where Bennett was sitting when the fatal incident occurred.  The witness said the other members of the group were standing to his right, the direction he believed the gun shots were fired from.  'It was so close I thought I was shot,' he said, adding he did not see a weapon or who fired the shots.  McCarty continued to say that Bennett had threatened Fullbright on a previous occasion and his cousin was known to have carried a .38 revolver because of the animosity between the two families.  The witness also testified to an alleged conversation between himself and his cousin a day after the shooting in which Fullbright supposedly admitted to hiding a pistol where no one could find it.  Defense Attorney Kyle McCallum question McCarty on his own criminal record.  The witness admitted to being on 14 years probation and having a prior felony, a shooting with intent to kill offense.  McCarty also confessed to being in jail when he informed Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations agents of the alleged incriminating conversation, six months after the murder.  McCallum in turn presented evidence and insinuated McCarty only came forth with information about the alleged conversation to receive a lighter bond to get out of jail.  The defense attorney continued to present evidence supporting claims Darcy changed his story of what happened during three separate interviews with OSBI agents.  McCallum also presented examples in which McCarty's testimony varied from statements made during a September 2005 preliminary hearing.  Other testimony presented throughout the day included statements from an Oklahoma state medical examiner who said Bennett suffered gunshot wounds to the head, neck and chest as well as two wounds to his hands where he may have held them up in self-defense.  Terrance Higgs, a firearms specialist with OSBI, confirmed results of ballistics tests performed on five bullets recovered from the scene and Bennett's body.  He said the bullets were caliber .38 special and possibly fired from a revolver, but did not have a weapon to compare them to.  OSBI Lead Investigator Chad Dandsby took the stand to clarify details about interviews he had with both McCarty and Holman.  'We have heard all the testimony we're going to hear in this case,' presiding Judge Don Ed Payne said Wednesday afternoon.  'We're at the point where we can not finish the case today.'  The Associate District Judge of Choctaw County told the court he expected to hear closing arguments Thursday morning.  'My expectation is we can get this case to you before 10:30,' Payne told the jury.  'It's moved rather quickly for a case of this sort.'  First degree murder is a first degree felony.  If convicted, Fullbright could be sentenced to life in prison or life in prison without parole."

THE PARIS NEWS, Jan. 20, 2006, By Shalina Ramirez:  "Jury says Fullbright not guilty - HUGO, Okla., A jury returned a verdict of not guilty Thursday in the murder case of Gary Allen Fullbright.  Fullbright, 18, was standing trial for the fatal shooting of Charles Bennett who was gunned down on March 25, 2005 while attending a barbecue in Hugo.  The jury, composed of four men and eight women, deliberated for about two hours before reaching the verdict.  'Needless to say we're very disappointed with the outcome of this trial,' Choctaw County Assistant District Attorney Joe Watkins said.  'We feel Mr. Fullbright remains a danger to this community and those around him.'  During the three-day trial, Watkins presented witness testimony placing Fullbright at the scene of the crime as well as a possible motive.  A witness claimed Bennett threatened Fullbright on a previous occasion and there was animosity between the two families.  Defense Attorney Kyle McCallum was able to counteract the prosecution's strategy by providing evidence that pointed out inconsistency in several witness testimonies.  McCallum also brought to light no one actually saw Fullbright shoot Bennett and there was a lack of a murder weapon in the case.  Watkins said Fullbright remains in police custody on accessory to murder charges as well as other offenses in relation to the death of Reginald 'Reggie' Deshon Mitchell.  Mitchell, Bennett's brother, was killed in a drive-by shooting in the 600 block of South E. Street in Hugo on Jan. 4, 2005.  Earlier news reports state an unknown suspect or suspects drove by the residence, firing numerous times striking Mitchell in the head and chest.  The victim was rushed to a Tulsa hospital where he died two days later.  Authorities believe the shooting deaths of both Bennett and Mitchell are related and possibly committed by the same parties.  Fullbright's brother Warren Coleman and cousin Gary Coleman are also being charged in relation to the Mitchell case.  McCallum was not available for comment."