Disingenuous Former DA Pollutes Molly & Colt Cold Case with Inept Suspect Theory
Environmental Attorney & Rookie Cop's Misinformation Campaign Exposed
![OKDEQ Attorney Gary Henry [Left] and Ringling Police Officer Jackie Bates [Right] push unsupported murder theory in local cold case.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71614317-0779-4fcb-a8db-292acad912b6_261x372.jpeg)
![OKDEQ Attorney Gary Henry [Left] and Ringling Police Officer Jackie Bates [Right] push unsupported murder theory in local cold case.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c03cde1-553c-4399-bc4f-f4b01b4ffee4_348x411.jpeg)
Most any one who has grown up or lived in South Eastern Oklahoma over the last decade has heard of the mysterious disappearance of Molly Miller and Colt Haynes from Love County following a police chase called off by one of Oklahoma’s most notoriously corrupt Sheriff, Joe Russell. Since 2013 loved ones have pushed for answers and the case has been covered extensively by the Partners in True Crime podcast over recent years.
The people of District 20 believed that the corruption would end there. It didn’t. The independent investigations from multiple agencies, experts, and jurisdictions highlighted by the podcast, exposed a much wider web of corruption that continues to hinder the ability to solve Molly Miller & Colt Haynes’ case.
Gary Henry contacted the Partners in True Crime podcast under the guise of offering professional consultation and assistance. Afterwards, he launched a blog claiming to provide the “truth” regarding who killed Molly & Colt and making allegations that the family and producers of the podcast were ignoring leads and producing misinformation.
Who is Gary Henry?
Gary Henry is Con Nipp and Colby Barrick’s Attorney1. He was raised in Madill Oklahoma [Marshall County] and was formerly the District 20 Attorney from 1995-1998. While in office, he hired and trained Craig Ladd, who resigned in August of 2023, and was replaced by appointed DA Melissa Handke.
Henry’s time as an elected prosecutor was nothing short of an embarrassment.
While serving as special prosecutor in September of 1997, Henry was accused of “grandstanding for political gain” and one of the persecuted businessmen told the press: "Gary Henry is not a prosecutor. He's a clown." Henry was then accused of prosecutorial misconduct by attorney, Mack Martin of Oklahoma City. Those allegations in part led to Henry quitting the case in April of 1997.
In November of 1998, there was a dispute between the State of Oklahoma and DA Henry related to the payment of Henry's $200,000 legal bill for his defense in a sexual harassment lawsuit after he was accused of sexually harassing his victim-witness coordinator, Sherry Stamper.
In 1999, a grand jury had investigated Henry and their findings were that Henry: "consistently used bad judgment and handled office finances inappropriately." But, "we did not find that his actions were illegal since we could not find a statute covering such gross neglect of duties."
Henry was also a Defendant in a Federal 42 U.S.C. 1983 Civil Rights lawsuit [Worrell v. Henry, et al 219 F.3d 1197 (10th Cir. 2000)] where the plaintiff maintained that Henry's withdrawal of an offer of employment to serve as the coordinator of a drug task force constituted retaliation for activity protected by the First Amendment by offering truthful testimony in the murder trial.
It appears his ethics and morals ran in similar circles to the corrupt former Love County Sheriff. After all, birds of a feather tend to flock together…
This is Who Gary Henry Declares is “A Good Man?”
A removal action against Joe Russell [Love County CV-2016-00023] was the result of testimony received during the State of Oklahoma's Fifteenth Multicounty Grand Jury, [Oklahoma County GJ-2014-1] For Corruption in Office and Habitual or Willful Neglect of Duty… He and his son were involved in methamphetamine distribution. Russell later plead GUILTY to a misdemeanor [Love County CM-2017-135] and was sentenced to 1 year deferred, in an effort to avoid federal prosecution. The Love County case was conveniently expunged around 2018.
Gary Henry takes credit for publishing fourteen blog posts riddled with empty promises to provide evidence, libelous statements about the victims’ family members and a fabricated murder theory that fails to place his preferred suspect with the victims on the night they disappeared. The whole charade is a pitiful display of ineptness and attention whoring. It’s amazing DEQ even allows him to inspect a trash can given his poor deductive and critical thinking skills.
Not a single link to affidavits, transcripts, or documents are offered… Gary Henry’s theory and showboating appear to be nothing more than a public relations campaign on behalf of Joe Russell, who has been trying to get a foot back into law enforcement as a process server for years now without success.
Jackie Bates, The Rookie “Expert”
Investigative experience is vital to any missing persons/murder investigation due to the nuanced nature of these cases. Seasoned investigators bring a wealth of knowledge and skills that enable them to navigate the complexities of crime scenes, analyze evidence, and understand the intricate legal and procedural aspects of these investigations, increasing the likelihood of a thorough and successful resolution.
According to CLEET [Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training] Jackie Bates was originally licensed in 2018 [CLEET License # 0152397]. Initially as a reserve officer in January of 2018 and then a fulltime officer in May of 2019. There is no publicly available CLEET licensing records to indicate that Jackie Bates held any professional investigative or law enforcement experience prior to obtaining his CLEET licensing in 2018.
Jackie Bates did his CLEET Certification through the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and the public is blessed that his fellow deputies decided to record and publish a portion of it.
Disclaimer: The follow clip is ACTUAL footage of CLEET certification/testing, and is NOT a scene from Reno 911, these are real Oklahoma peace officers…
For those unfamiliar with police training and certification, the exercise portrayed in the video is meant to simulate an officer having his OS [“pepper”] spray used against him in an altercation. A properly executed simulation [for proper certification] would involve the trainee demonstrating that he is able to keep proper muzzle control of his side arm and engage approaching hostiles, as well as demonstrate an ability to get away from the threat and take down, subdue, and restrain [arrest] a subject. Often CLEET does not allow injured cadets to participate while injured as being able to walk under one’s own power while exposed to chemical agents is significant to the evaluation.
On the Job Experience…
A good indicator of experience in law enforcement is to review the volume and types of cases an officer has been responsible for throughout his career. It did not take long to conduct such a review on Jackie Bates, as court records quickly reveal his “rookie” status.
OSCN records indicate that 88.96% of cases Bates lead to prosecution were traffic violations2.
Bates’ policing efforts only lead to the prosecution of eight felony cases and twenty six misdemeanor case in nearly six years of service.
OSCN records also indicate that Bates has not been lead officer on ANY case since 2020. The public records data does appear to potentially support reports from sources that Jackie Bates pursued his law enforcement position solely with the intent to get involved in the Molly & Colt case.
This begs the question…
How does a traffic cop become “one of the lead investigators” for arguably one of Oklahoma’s most complex and high profile missing/murdered persons cases? It’s comparable to placing a middle schooler in a surgical residency program.
Why was the lead investigator “working with” the Attorney who represents two primary suspects?
Bates’ Interview of Jesse Haynes
There is a reason why Bates and Henry will not publish their interview with Jesse Haynes. Maybe because it doesn’t support the rookie traffic cop’s crime of passion theory, and doesn’t pass the sniff test for a low budget Lifetime movie plot.
Given the lack of interviewing experience held by Bates, he likely injected personal bias, used leading questions, and other manipulative techniques.
Potential personal bias: Public records indicate that Jackie Bates own romantic relationship has not always been harmonious. In 2007 he filed for divorce, only to back out about 90 days later and remain married. He filed again in 2015, then again the couple changed course and asked the court to set aside the divorce, this time nearly a year later. These records are indicative of the possibility that his personal relationship issues may have affected his judgement when questioning Jesse Haynes about the alleged affair between Jesse’s ex and Colt.
Without the ability to review Bates’ recorded interview, we are left to rely on Jesse’s statements about conversations with Bates.
Listen for Yourself:
Just Another Corrupt Bump in The Road…
Gary Henry and Jackie Bates are simply the current examples of what is wrong with Oklahoma’s injustice system. The two men have clearly been compromised. At what point, and by whom, we can only speculate. Their motives are likely more sinister than simply gaining five minutes of fame on a podcast, given the characters they choose to defend and surround themselves with. Their big complaint of the case being removed from the influence and jurisdiction of law enforcement is quite telling all on its own.
We pray that Paula Fielder and the families of Molly Miller and Colt Haynes can receive justice through the hands of competent investigators and experts going forward. The search is not over. What is done in the dark comes to light.
The significance of quality policing lies in its ability to bring justice, closure, and a sense of security to victims, helping them rebuild their lives after experiencing trauma. Oklahoma’s injustice system needs a bottom to top overhaul.
Henry’s blog post “Part VII The Reason for this Blog” refers to an email sent February 6, 2023 to the BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs], where he identifies Con Nipp and Colby Barrick as “My Clients”.
Traffic citation revenue is sometimes part of new officer’s employment contract as a portion of the revenue is often used to reimburse CLEET for the costs of training academy.