Defense Rests In Tulsa Police Corruption Trial

Lori Fullbright, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The defense for Jeff Henderson rested its case Thursday in the ongoing corruption trial of Tulsa officers Henderson and Bill Yelton.

8/18/2011 Related Story: Second Officer Takes The Stand In Tulsa Police Corruption Trial

The government can call rebuttal witnesses, then it will be time for the jury to get instructions and hear closing arguments.

Thursday afternoon, the prosecutor cross examined Officer Henderson and at times, the exchanges were pretty heated.

At one point, Jane Duke, the prosecutor, said, "You think we've fabricated these charges against you, why would we do that?" Henderson said "You've been lied to and misled."

Officer Jeff Henderson also told the prosecutor the jury should've heard the FBI caught former ATF agent Brandon McFadden with a lot of meth and was facing many years in prison, so he's testifying in this case, in order to get a lighter sentence.

He said the jury should've heard that his informant Rochelle Martin claimed prosecutors threatened to arrest her if she didn't help with their case.

Henderson said Martin lied when she testified for prosecutors because she wants to help her boyfriend get a lighter prison sentence and because she doesn't want people in North Tulsa to know she was the informant on all these cases, because she still has to live there and is afraid she'll be killed.

Henderson had produced his phone records to show he talked to his informants before the search warrants in question, as a way to prove he didn't just make up information to get the warrants.

The prosecutor said the records showed there were calls, but there was no way to prove what was said during them, other than his word. She pointed out it was pretty convenient when there were no cell phone record of calls; he claimed the calls were made on his office phone.

At times, the questioning got heated, but Henderson didn't back down, at one time saying, "You are not going to confuse me Miss Duke."

Despite the intensity of the cross examination, Henderson's testimony ended with him getting choked up.

Duke had questioned him about the sale of his house, which she compared to McFadden's, which many people had claimed was too expensive for a cop's salary. Henderson talked about the inheritance left to him from his father, when he father passed away just a few years ago, and that's when he became emotional.