Kingfisher County Sheriff Dennis Banther said his office has nearly completed its investigation of an altercation in rural Hennessey last Saturday that ended with an Enid man shot dead and a Guthrie man hospitalized with injuries sustained in a rollover collision.

Banther said evidence officers have gathered so far in the investigation support the theory that both incidents arose from the same sequence of events that started with a verbal altercation in the road outside a child’s birthday party.

“Our investigation has shown that the rollover accident that evening was a direct result of the earlier shooting,” he said. “Witness state ments indicate individuals from the shooting scene actively pursued the suspect’s vehicle and forced it off the road.”

Christopher Shane Robinson, 33, was the victim of a shooting reported about 1.5 miles north of S.H. 51 on Cemetery Road about 9:40 p.m. Saturday, May 9. Robinson later succumbed to his injuries at an Enid hospital and his body has been transported to the state medical examiner’s office in Oklahoma City for forensic examination.

Shortly after Kingfisher County 911 received a call reporting shots fired, a rollover accident was reported two miles north of Hennessey on U.S. 81, which is being investigated by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Benjamin Millis, 31, of Waukomis was driving a 2015 Toyota Tundra with Bonnie Millis, 27, of Waukomis, Michael Porter, 26, of Guthrie and a 4-year-old girl as passengers.

According to the OHP report, the vehicle left the roadway to the right and rolled an undetermined number of times before coming to rest in the west field. Porter was transported by helicopter to OU Medical Center where he was admitted in critical condition with a head injury. Bonnie Millis and the child were transported by Kingfisher Fire and Rescue to Bass Baptist Hospital in Enid where they were treated for injuries and released.

Banther said Thursday that Porter is improving and may be released from the hospital this week, although follow-up surgeries likely will be required.

“We are continuing to investigate this crime daily and have served several search warrants this week to retrieve evidence necessary to provide accuracy to the details provided by witnesses,” Banther said Thursday.

One of the search warrants involved looking for shell casings inside the vehicle involved in the rollover accident, which was impounded by the sheriff’s office, Banther said.

He said no casings were found at the scene for the firearm, which his office confiscated. He declined to confirm whether casings were found inside the vehicle during the search.

“We’re preparing the paperwork for submittal to the DA’s office at this time and after his review, we’ll do any follow up the district attorney asks for,” Banther said. “We feel confident in our findings of fact in this matter.”

Any decision about charges that might be filed is in the DA’s hands, he said.