By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
EL RENO – Last Sunday marked an anniversary that one Canadian County inmate may not be too proud of.
Michael Amir Hall, 40, “celebrated” five years at the Canadian County Jail on March 19.
The Augusta, Ga. resident was initially booked into the county lock-up at 8:54 p.m. March 19, 2018, after an investigation by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.
Eight days later, Hall was formally charged in Canadian County District Court with three felonies – aggravated trafficking in illegal drugs, conspiracy to traffic in illegal drugs and unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute.
Since coming to the jail, the Canadian County inmate has been charged with more felony crimes – including possession of contraband in June 2021 and indecent exposure in November 2022.
By state statute, an inmate may remain in a county jail for no more than one year as punishment. But an exception is made for an inmate awaiting formal sentencing in district court.
“As a pre-trail detainee, there is no time-established limits,” Canadian County Undersheriff Kevin Ward said.
“But while in jail, Hall picked up the additional charges of possessing contraband and indecent exposure.”
So, Hall is still being held at the Canadian County Jail in those pending cases.
“Once adjudicated, he’ll be delivered to DOC to finish incarceration time from the (original) drug charges and any additional time from other charges while in jail,” Undersheriff Ward explained.
At a bench trial in May 2022, Canadian County District Judge Paul Hesse found Hall guilty of aggravated trafficking in illegal drugs and unlawful possession of CDS with intent to distribute in the OBN’s 2018 case.
Hall was sentenced to serve 20 years in state prison for aggravated trafficking and five years for possession with intent to distribute and ordered to pay $15,000 in fines.
Those two sentences will run concurrently, and the convict was given credit for time served. He was found not guilty on the conspiracy charge.
Meanwhile, district court arraignment for Hall on the indecent exposure and jail contraband charges is coming up March 28 before Judge Hesse.
The next longest-serving active Canadian County inmate is Norman’s Jonathan Grifaldo Ramirez, 33. He was booked into the county jail more than three years ago – on Jan. 8, 2020 – in a drug trafficking case investigated by Oklahoma City Police.
IT’S NOT A RECORD
Five years may seem like a long time for an inmate to remain in the Canadian County Jail before being convicted and transferred to state DOC custody.
But it’s not a record.
Tulsa’s Derek Don Posey was booked into the Canadian County Jail on June 25, 2013, in connection with a double-murder case in Calumet.
Posey was found guilty July 22, 2019, on two counts of first-degree murder and debit card theft after a May jury trial before Associate District Judge Bob Hughey.
Posey was sentenced to death for the murders after serving three years for the debit card theft.
When he was transferred to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Posey had been a Canadian County Jail inmate for about six years and two months.
