SHOOTING PROMPTED BY TURF BATTLE TO CONTROL DRUG TRADE, POLICE SAY

A northeast Oklahoma City man was shot Friday and a woman abducted in what
detectives called a turf battle over control of the area's drug trade.
Early Friday, Michelle Renee Carson, 28, walked outside to her boyfriend's
car, which was parked near apartments at 728 NE 3, police said. Two men
stepped out of the shadows as she tried to open the door and pointed
handguns at her.

She knew one of the men by name, police said. Even so, the men ordered her
into the driver's seat and got into the back seat. At gunpoint, she was
told to drive to a house at NE 4 and Lindsay.

All three got out of the car and went inside, she told police. The men
questioned her about how many people were inside the apartment on the east
side of 728 NE 3 on the bottom floor.

After about 30 minutes, the men, who threatened to "shoot up" the
apartments, took her back to the car, letting her out to buy marijuana in
the 1500 block of NE 34, she told police. While she was outside, the men
sped off.

About 5:10 a.m., Carson told police, she called her boyfriend at the
apartments to warn him about the men.

"While she was on the phone ... she heard gunshots and then the phone
disconnect," a police report says. "That's when she called 911."

Four officers arrived simultaneously, finding an open door on the east side
of the building. Screams came from the room down the stairs, and a man at
the top of the stairs could be seen with two handguns.

Lelean Ray Mitchell, 43, was arrested on drug and firearms complaints,
including possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction. Police
do not believe he initiated the shooting, however.

"The information that's developed leads us to believe that he may have been
defending himself in the apartment when the suspect and the other man came
to the door," police spokeswoman Capt. Jessica Cummins said.

The other two officers went downstairs, where they found Ronnie Robinson,
40, said Detective Terry Sterling. Robinson had been shot in the hip. His
leg was broken, and he had lost a great deal of blood.

"Apparently our two suspects had an ongoing feud with the victims ... over
control of the drug trade in the area," Sterling said. "They came over a
little after 5 a.m. and opened fire, hitting Ronnie."

Robinson was taken to St. Anthony Hospital for treatment. Police were
seeking the shooters Friday night.