VINITA-- Vinita police on Sunday arrested a man who is charged with manslaughter in Tulsa County in the beating death of another man, police said.
Joshua James Ironside was booked into the Craig County jail at 1:37 a.m., a jail booking official said. Ironside was arrested after police tracked him to a house in Vinita, Tulsa police Cpl. Gene Watkins said.
Ironside, 19, was charged Thursday with first-degree manslaughter for allegedly beating Brandon Lee Barnes in the head and causing his death, court records show.
Two of Barnes' co-workers found him dead around noon Aug. 4 in his apartment at 4720 E. 68th St.
From "The Tulsa World," Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Section A, Page 12
A man now faces a 40-year prison sentence for a fatal beating in Tulsa last summer.
Tulsa County jurors convicted Joshua James Ironside of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Brandon Lee Barnes.
The jury cleared Ironside, 20, of second-degree murder but found him guilty of the lesser manslaughter offense and imposed a 40-year term.
The Friday night verdicts concludes a three-day trial in Associate District Judge Caroline Wall's court.
Wall will determine whether Ironside is allowed to serve any part of his term on probation when she formally sentences him in August.
Prosecutors originally charged Ironside in August with manslaughter, linked to an allegation that he committed an assault and battery and inflicted fatal head injuries to Barnes, 23.
Two of Barnes' co-workers found him dead Aug. 4 at his condominium complex in the 4700 block of East 68th Street.
Ironside reportedly had told people at the complex that he was from Vinita, a Tulsa detective's affidavit said. Vinita police arrested Ironside there on Aug. 31, according to reports.
At a preliminary hearing, Special Judge Clancy Smith allowed a prosecutor to upgrade the charge to second-degree murder.
Ironside has been in the Tulsa Jail since Oct. 21, records show.
SCHOLARSHIP GIVEN IN MEMORY OF BRANDON BARNES
By CINDY BARTON, Harold Assistant Editor
From "The Sapulpa Herald," Friday, August 13, 2004
Friends and family are ensuring that a Sapulpan's memory will live on through the establishment of a performing arts scholarship in his name.
A volunteer foundation has established the Brandon Lee Barnes Memorial Scholarship for the Arts to support graduating seniors from Sapulpa High School who plan to pursue a performing arts education. The organization is funded entirely by donations from individuals and community businesses. The first recipient of this scholarship is Mark Henderson. He received $2,000. Scholarship organizers presented the award to Henderson at the Sapulpa band room Thursday, along with a plaque.
Henderson will be a college freshman this fall majoring in music with an emphasis in education and composition at the University of Arkansas.
"This is probably the one scholarship I wanted the most because it's a performing arts scholarship," he said. "When I got it I was ecstatic. Music is what I love and what I do, so it really meant something to me."
Although Henderson didn't know Barnes, he knows they were a lot alike, he said. They were both drum majors in high school and both played the saxophone.
"He's a lot like me," he said. "We had a lot in common."
The idea for the scholarship came from Barnes' friends and family. Barnes died in August 2003. He was involved in various performing arts including competitive speech and debate, dance and music. He played the clarinet, saxophone, piano and guitar and was a member of the SHS Big Blue Band.
Barnes' friends and family decided last October to establish a scholarhip in his name.
"It was something that helped us cope with the loss and try to carry Brandon's memory and his ideas on," scholarship organizer and friend Kyle Nicholson said. "We felt like it was the right thing to do and Brandon would like it."
He said the mission statement of the scholarship committee is to better the future of the artistic community by helping college students with the financial burden of college. He said they choose a student majoring in some type of performing art.
Nicholson said they hope to provide the scholarship for years to come.
"We intend to continue this," he said. "This is not a one-time deal."
Cinty Barton 224-5185 Ext. 205
[email protected]
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