WILBURTON, Okla. — A former instructor at Eastern Oklahoma State College (EOSC) was arrested after authorities found cocaine and marijuana in his apartment. Authorities also found a human jaw bone in the apartment, according to the Eastern Oklahoma State College Police Department (EOSC PD).
Bryan Denny, who was an EOSC instructor and CLEET certified EOSC PD Investigator, was charged for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, unlawful removal of a dead body and possession of marijuana.
Breken Wagner is an attorney representing Denny. He said Denny is a longstanding professor and has worked in law enforcement for a long time.
The college said as of Sept. 5, Denny was no longer employed as an instructor.
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On Aug. 31, the EOSC PD said they were contacted by two directors at the college who were performing safety inspections on all college student/resident apartments.
They told police that Denny acted nervously during the inspection of his apartment. They also said that they saw him move a “marijuana rolling tray” from the living room to the bathroom.
They also told police that there was a strong odor of marijuana in the apartment.
Knowing that Denny is a tribal member, the EOSC PD created a search warrant for the apartment and had it signed off by a Choctaw Nation judge.
On Sept. 7, around 5:00 p.m., EOSC PD, Choctaw National Tribal Police and Wilburton Police executed a search warrant on Denny’s apartment. At the time, Denny was not home.
During their search, they noticed a strong odor of marijuana. Authorities said they found a green substance resembling marijuana shake on a coffee table.
They also found a pipe packed with a substance that later tested positive for marijuana.
Denny then arrived at 5:20 p.m. and was issued a copy of the search warrant.
As authorities continued their search, they found a brown paper bag. Inside the paper bag was a quart sized plastic bag that contained four smaller plastic bags with a white powder inside them. A field test on the powder came back positive for cocaine.
The paper bag also had a prescription pill bottle with 54 empty pharmaceutical type capsules and a box labeled ‘1ML R50 Dart 90% Full Spectrum RSO Distillate and 10% cannabis terpenes.’
At 5:45 p.m., Denny was arrested and taken to Latimer County Jail.
After Denny was arrested, authorities continued their search.
Inside a bedroom they found a plastic case in a laundry closet. Authorities opened the case and found what appeared to be a human jawbone with five decayed teeth.
They gave a photo of the jawbone to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) and the OSBI confirmed that it was human remains.
When authorities removed evidence from the apartment, they also removed three firearms: a .22 Henry semi-auto rifle, a 12 GA Remington 870 pump action shotgun and a .50 Cal Thompson Center muzzleloader with scope.
Denny was released from jail on Sept. 9 after making a $20,000 bond.
Wagner confirmed Denny bonded out of jail, and he said they’ve entered a plea in the case.
“My client has entered a not-guilty plea to every count,” Wagner said.
FOX23 asked if Denny wanted to release a statement in regards to the found human jawbone.
“I do want to talk about [the jawbone], yeah,” Wagner said. “The jawbone. Which is the big one, right? [It] gets everyone’s attention.”
Wagner said the alleged jawbone is an artifact that was given to Denny from a family member.
“The evidence is going to come out that these are just artifacts that were handed down by a family member,” he said.
Wagner also said Denny was not dealing drugs and alleged the charges are “backlash.” However, he would not elaborate on that claim.
Denny’s preliminary hearing has not been set, but it will likely take place within a couple of months.
FOX23 reached out to Choctaw prosecutors but have not heard back at this time.
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