SHAWNEE, Okla. — District Attorney Richard Smothermon has issued his opinion that a Lincoln County woman was justified when she shot and killed an intruder who threw a patio table through her glass door early Friday morning. No charges will be filed.
Donna Jackson, 57, shot Billy Dean Riley about 12:40 a.m. while she was on the phone with 911 dispatchers. During the call, she was pleading for deputies to hurry to the scene because a man she described as being drunk was trying get into her rural home located between Stroud and Cushing.
“A review of the recorded 911 call paints a chilling scene,” according to Smothermon’s opinion, which said evidence shows the use of defensive force by Jackson was justifiable as citizens have a right to expect absolute safety within their homes.
Smothermon said Oklahoma law allows a person to use defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if that person is in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering a residence.
“The death of Billy Riley, while tragic, was justifiable under Oklahoma law. I therefore decline prosecution,” Smothermon said in his opinion.
According to the ruling, Jackson was home alone that night and was in bed reading the Bible when she heard her dogs barking. She got up to see what was happening and noticed a man at the back patio door that she did not know or recognize.
The man, later identified as Riley, 53, started “banging on her patio door, yelling obscenities and threatening to kill her,” the opinion shows.
Jackson called 911 to report the incident and also retrieved a shotgun from a closet. Riley attempted to gain entry to the home by kicking and banging on the door; he finally gained entry by breaking the glass door with a patio table.
“Mrs. Jackson fired her weapon, striking the man one time in the chest, causing a fatal wound,” Smothermon said.
Based on the investigation, Smothermon said evidence at the scene of the home was consistent with Jackson’s statements. Riley’s body was found with his feet inside the threshold of the home; pieces of glass inside the home from the broken glass also had prints consistent with Riley’s boots.
The 911 call also is evidence, as Riley can be heard yelling and pounding on the door before the fatal shot was fired.
“Mrs. Jackson can be heard talking to the 911 operator ... she can be heard imploring law enforcement to hurry, stating several times that she ‘did not want to shoot this man.’”
Near the end of the call, glass can be heard breaking, and shortly afterward, a weapon is discharged.
Law enforcement arrived a short time later; Riley was pronounced dead at the scene.
Jackson hasn’t commented to the media about the incident; Smothermon said Jackson’s thoughts have been for Riley’s family. Graveside services for Riley are scheduled 2 p.m. Thursday at New Zion Cemetery in Chandler.
Authorities have said they don’t know why Riley broke into Jackson’s home, but they believe he was driving in the area when his pickup ran off the roadway. His sister was found passed out in that pickup and was transported to a hospital for medical treatment.
