Man Accused Of Fatal Road Rage Shooting In Norman Arraigned

The man accused of fatally shooting a man in an alleged road rage incident made his first appearance in court today. The incident happened last Tuesday on Main Street in Norman.

Mark Kottka is now charged with first-degree murder and his bond is set at $4 million.

62-year-old Mark Kottka's defense attorney argued that his charge should be knocked down to manslaughter. That request was denied.

"Mr. Kottka and our victim got in some sort of road rage incident," said Alexis White, the public information officer for the Cleveland County District Attorney's office. "Mr. Kottka had a handgun he pointed at the victim and he shot. Our victim later succumbed to those injuries."

"Eyewitnesses heard a verbal altercation between our victims and Mr. Kottka," according to White.

"What I heard, I knew exactly what it was," recounted eyewitness John Becerra. "I heard talking and then it just got quiet for a minute and then I just heard 'pop pop' real loud."

But Kottka did not run away, according to the arresting officer's report.

"Yes, he waited at the scene," White confirmed. "Upon police arrival he said 'I shot him, he hit me.'"

During his arraignment, Kottka's attorneys said he was defending himself, and asked for a lower bond. 

"With a case like murder in the first-degree we continue collecting evidence and the investigation could be ongoing at this point," said White. "The state and the defense both argued for the different bond amounts but the judge ultimately decided to grant the $4 million bond to Mr. Kottka."

As for Chritian Gurrola's family, his sister told News 9 in a statement that “...family and friends are extremely saddened with what happened…” and “there's extreme heartache that will not heal easily…”

Mark Kottka has a preliminary hearing conference set for August 29th.