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Oklahoma beheading: Murder defendant confessed, attempted second beheading

BY JANE GLENN CANNON
BY NOLAN CLAY
PUBLISHED: SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

NORMAN � A disciplined worker charged Tuesday in the Moore food plant
attack �openly admitted to beheading the first victim with a knife
and cutting and attempting to behead the second victim,� Moore police
wrote in a court affidavit.


Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn said it is �highly
likely� the death penalty will be sought against Alton Alexander
Nolen, 30. Mashburn said Nolen, a Muslim convert, yelled Arabic
phrases during the attack.

Mashburn said he will visit with the family of beheading victim
Colleen Hufford before making a decision on the death penalty.
Hufford, 54, of Moore, was killed Thursday afternoon at the Vaughan
Foods plant.

Nolen was charged with three felony counts � first-degree murder,
assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and assault with a deadly
weapon.

Mashburn said more counts may be added later, as witness interviews
continue. He said other Vaughan Foods employees may have been injured
as they tried to thwart the attack.

�They threw chairs, kicked at him,� Mashburn said at a news
conference. �There were a lot of people trying to protect their co-
workers and stop the attacks. There may have been more employees that
suffered injuries ...we can always add counts.�

The FBI is continuing to investigate Nolen�s background, Mashburn
said. If a terrorism charge is appropriate, it most likely would be a
federal charge, he said.

At the news conference, Mashburn said the state had no anti-terrorism
statute. He later clarified his remark, saying the state�s statute
does not fit the evidence in the case.

�Oklahoma�s anti-terrorism statute is directed towards people who
desire to coerce a civilian population or government into granting
illegal, political or economic demands,� he said. �At this time,
murder in the first degree is the most appropriate charge. We plan to
vigorously prosecute this case.�

Nolen goes by the name Jah�Keem Yisrael on Facebook. The attack
sparked concerns of religious extremism after police revealed Nolen
had tried to convert workers at the food plant to Islam. On his
Facebook page, Nolen posted terrorism-related photos, and a graphic
image of a beheading.

�Obviously, there was some sort of infatuation with beheading,�
Mashburn said.

Mashburn said Tuesday he believes the attack was more about race than
religion. He said it was �triggered� by a complaint lodged by the
second victim, Traci Johnson, 43, to the Vaughan Food human resources
department.

Johnson, of Oklahoma City, was treated at OU Medical Center with
injuries to her neck and cheek and was released from the hospital
Saturday, authorities said.

Mashburn said Nolen was suspended from work after the complaint, which
was prompted by an altercation earlier in the day between Nolen and
Johnson, who is white.

�Nolen made remarks indicating he didn�t like white people,� the
district attorney said.

Nolen was called to the company�s human resources office, where he was
told he was being suspended from his job, the district attorney said.

Police initially had said Nolen was terminated.

Mashburn said Nolen left the business, went to his apartment and
retrieved a large kitchen knife. Police in a court affidavit said he
hid it in his shoe before returning to the plant.

When Nolen returned, he attacked Hufford from behind and then grabbed
and cut Johnson, the prosecutor said. Johnson was one of three
employees targeted for revenge because Nolen claimed they �oppressed
him,� Mashburn said.

Hufford, a grandmother, was not one of the three. Her memorial service
is set for Friday.

Johnson is traumatized and does not want to make any public statements
while the investigation is ongoing, an aunt said Tuesday.

Mashburn said he has no doubt Nolen intended to behead Johnson but was
stopped when Vaughan Foods Chief Operating Officer Mark Vaughan fired
shots at Nolen as he was attacking her.

Vaughan is a reserve Oklahoma County sheriff�s deputy. Police said he
shot Nolen with an AR-15 rifle as Nolen turned and began charging
at him with the knife. Mashburn said he believed the company
executive kept the weapon at the plant.

The district attorney said Vaughan fired three shots, but two missed.
One shot went through Nolen�s arm and entered his abdomen.

The murder count against Nolen involves the beheading. The first
assault count involves the injuries to Johnson. The second assault
count involves the threat of harm to Vaughan.

Nolen was at OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Moore
police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis said he will be moved to the Cleveland
County jail.

�He was up walking around today, so we are working on getting him
released,� Lewis said.

Police interviewed him at the hospital after he regained
consciousness. He agreed to talk to detectives, admitting he went to
his apartment to retrieve the knife used in the attack, according to
the court affidavit filed with the charge.

Nolen lived in an apartment a few blocks away from the plant.

According to officials, this is the path Alton Nolen took Thursday
from the human resources office at Vaughan Foods, 216 NE 12, to his
home and back to the plant.

According to officials, this is the path Alton Nolen took Thursday
from the human resources office at Vaughan Foods, 216 NE 12, to his
home and back to the plant.

Nolen began working at Vaughan Foods for $8 an hour on Jan. 15, 2013,
as part of a work-release program at a halfway house for felons
completing their prison sentences, Corrections Department records
show.

He has convictions in three cases � for possessing cocaine, possessing
marijuana and assaulting and escaping from a highway patrol trooper.
He was released on March 22, 2013, after being incarcerated for two
years.

Danielle Katcher, a spokeswoman for Vaughan Foods, said Monday that
employees are returning to work. Each shift begins with group
gatherings to allow the employees to discuss what has happened �and
come together as a team and draw strength from each other.�

Company leadership and crisis counselors are helping them deal with
the loss of their co-worker, she said.