In the early hours of May 28, 2020, in southeast Oklahoma City, a fatal encounter unfolded, leaving one man dead and another facing a murder charge. Daniel Rowland Hardwick, a 42-year-old male, was shot and killed while allegedly attempting to break into a business. The business owner, Larue Bratcher, 33, told police he saw someone on his security cameras trying to enter his property.
Hearing the person at the back door, Bratcher fired three shots through the locked and secured door.
Upon their arrival, police found Hardwick deceased at the scene. During their investigation, authorities discovered that Bratcher's business was an unlicensed marijuana cultivation operation, containing approximately 480 plants with an estimated value of $1.5 million. Bratcher was initially arrested for unlawful cultivation of marijuana. He cooperated with the police regarding the shooting and was not immediately charged in Hardwick's death.
Following a review of the case by the district attorney's office, Larue Bratcher was later charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting of Daniel Hardwick. The basis for the murder charge reportedly stemmed from the fact that Bratcher fired through a solid door, unable to see what was on the other side, which prosecutors argued demonstrated a disregard for human life. Because he was allegedly committing a felony at the time of the shooting, Oklahoma's 'Stand Your Ground' or 'Castle Doctrine' self-defense laws would not apply in his case.
