In the summer of 2022, a violent encounter on a Tulsa expressway claimed the life of 17-year-old Terek Chairs. On the evening of July 31st, Chairs was driving a Kia Soul eastbound on the Broken Arrow Expressway when another vehicle pulled alongside his. A hail of bullets erupted from the other car, turning the busy thoroughfare into the scene of a rolling gun battle.
During the exchange of gunfire, Chairs was fatally wounded.
A passenger in his vehicle was also struck multiple times but survived. The Kia, now without a driver, crashed into the center median. Emergency services arrived to find Chairs deceased at the scene. Investigators later determined that the Kia Soul Chairs had been driving was stolen.
The investigation into the shooting led Tulsa police to four suspects. In August 2022, Brandon Jefferson was taken into custody. The following month, Izayaih Shanks was apprehended in Houston, Texas. A third suspect, Tayveon Harring, was arrested in November of the same year during a traffic stop in Tulsa. The fourth and final suspect, Linus Altenor Jr., was arrested in Okmulgee in December 2022. Investigators believe that all individuals involved in the murder have been apprehended.
The four men faced charges including first-degree murder and shooting with intent to kill. Brandon Jefferson pleaded no contest to a charge of accessory to a felony and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Tayveon Harring and Izayaih Shanks also pleaded no contest to shooting with intent to kill and each received a 120-day jail sentence. The case against Linus Altenor Jr., who faces a charge of first-degree murder, remains pending.
