DA SHOULD TAKE LEAVE AS INQUIRY CONTINUES

Allegations against District Attorney Richard Gray and his office,
that it facilitated illegal drug distributions, are disturbing to say
the least.

Though Gray has not been indicted, he should be forced to take
administrative leave until these allegations have been thoroughly investigated.

The Oklahoma Attorney General's Office reported last week it would
employ in a felony case intercepted messages from a cell phone used
by one of Gray's former prosecutors, Janet Bickel. Bickel was
indicted by a grand jury and charged with unlawful possession of
methamphetamine and offering false evidence.

A second person in Gray's office, Vyrl Keeter, was indicted on a
charge of asking a witness to lie to the grand jury. Keeter is on
administrative leave.

Certainly, Keeter and Bickel are innocent until proven guilty, and
Gray, for that matter is, too.

But the charges are more than a distraction and disruption to Gray's
office, which is actually the office of the 27th District -- Adair,
Cherokee, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties. Serious questions about the
competency and integrity of the office have been raised.

Now that the allegations have been made public, the residents of
those counties would be better served with a replacement for Gray
while the allegations are investigated.