KRMG has learned that Daniel Garcia, the man investigators say who shot and killed his grandson, Donald Ray Crawford, III, had a prior conviction of assault with a deadly weapon in Tulsa County.
Garcia was arrested in March, 2004 on a single count of shooting with intent to kill after a dispute with a neighbor.
He later pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of assault with a deadly weapon and received a sentence of five years.
In 2006, the case was called for judicial review and Tulsa County District Judge modified the sentence to four years and one month, suspended, and released Garcia on probation. His probation ended in February, 2010.
Wagoner County Sheriff Bob Colbert says Garcia shot and killed Donald Ray Crawford, III, Saturday morning at the home Garcia shared with his daughter and son-in-law, Crawford's parents.
"It looks like Mr. Garcia for some reason entered the room where the other victims were at and just started shooting," Colbert said, adding that Garcia targeted his grandson.
Crawford, III was killed; as a result of the ensuing struggle, his mother Jodie Lynn Crawford, 49, was shot and Garcia was also shot. He died from his injuries.
Donald Ray Crawford, Jr. was injured during the struggle, but declined treatment. He reportedly had a broken bone in his hand.
Mrs. Crawford was transported to the hospital and is expected to recover from her wounds. Garcia was her father.
[ Crawford, III, known as "Donnie," was a well-known mini sprint car racer. ]
The sheriff said it remains unclear who fired the shot which killed Garcia.
He said only one weapon, a revolver, was involved.
No one else beside the four family members were in the home at the time of the shootings.
"This family has been kind of the founders of racing in Tulsa. They came home from the (Chili Bowl) races last night, everything was fine, and apparently for no reason this happened this morning," Colbert told reporters.
Sheriff Colbert said Garcia was living in the home with the Crawfords. He said they had no record of any previous violence in the home.
"We understand there have been some arrests in the past," he said, referring to Garcia, "but we have not checked that out."
Just last Wednesday, Donnie Ray Crawford became the first Oklahoma driver to win a preliminary feature at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. He won the race at the last second when a three-man dash to the finish line ended in a crash of the two leaders.
Crawford was hailed as a hero in 2008 after pulling fellow driver Harli White from a burning car during a micro sprint race event in Oklahoma City in April, 2008.
White had become trapped in the car and was badly injured by the fire. Crawford, who was wearing a fire suit, pulled her from the vehicle and probably saved her life.
The call reporting the shooting came in about 9:00 a.m. Saturday to the Broken Arrow 911 system, Maj. Mark Irwin of BAPD confirmed.
However, once it was realized the call was outside the jurisdiction of BAPD, the call was immediately dispatched through the Wagoner County Sheriff's Office.