Drunk driver accused of killing 4 Durant boys could be tried twice

DURANT, Okla. (KXII) - Tuesday marks one year since Bradley Shawn Pittman drove drunk and killed four Durant boys.

Pittman’s BAC was more than 3-times the legal limit.

Pittman is a member of the Choctaw Nation and could be tried twice, once in federal court and once in tribal court.

Pittman was originally charged with four counts of second degree murder in state court, but his attorney appealed the charges, using the recent McGirt ruling, so the state dropped its case.

A conviction there could mean up to four life sentences for Pittman, who has previous DUI charges and had a revoked driver’s license at the time of the crash.

“The genetic makeup of the perpetrator or the victim, and the location of the crime, should not allow for disparate treatment under the law in Oklahoma,” District Judge Mark Campbell said in a statement.

Campbell believes a conviction in federal court, on the same charges, could result in a less harsh sentence, because any previous convictions he has would virtually be erased.

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