Beckham County DA continues prosecution of Hayes in death of Coulter Vaught
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled on February 6 that the appeal to charges filed against Clayton Samson Hayes do not qualify as self-defense and prosecution shall proceed as the Beckham County District Attorney’s Office intended.
Th eCriminalAppealsCourtnotedthe facts that have been established — that on January 11, 2024, Hayes killed Vaught.
The 14-page ruling, details how Hayes called 911 about shooting a man without detailing that he actually knew the identity of the man he had shot, which was outside of Vaught’s place of work.
Hayes was originally charged with manslaughter, but after a lengthy hearing heard by former District Judge Weedon, charges were upgraded to first-degree murder. In denying Hayes’ self-defense claim, an attempt to get charges vacated, the Court wrote, “In summary, the Court found the following: no physical evidence supported Appellant’s testimony about events; Appellant initially told police he had no relationship with Vaught, implying they were strangers; there was evidence Appellant and Vaught had an acrimonious relationship dating back to at least 2018; Appellant’s text to Vaught the night before the shooting were provocative; Appellant deliberately caused a scene at Vaught’s dying father’s residence about one before the shooting; there was no gunshot residue on Vaught’s body or clothing; police tests showed Vaught must have been shot from a distance of at least 36 inches; the bullet casing’s location between the driver’s seat and door was consistent with the gun being fired right at the open window and not from the middle of the truck cab; the photographs of the truck show it would be almost impossible for a person to run up the two steps without grabbing anything and to get through the window given the placement of the side mirror; and Appellant had no bruising or injuries consistent with the attack he described.”
