LOCAL
Kimberly Marsh, The Oklahoma Eagle
Heather Nash, Deep Greenwood Foundation Executive Director speaks about the impact of the Juneteenth shooting on Greenwood District stakeholders. She was joined by Greenwood Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dr. Freeman Culver, left. Photo, Kimberly Marsh. Illustration, The Oklahoma Eagle
An alleged shooter arrested; city imposes curfew
Isaiah Knight, 22, was doing what everyone tells GenZers of a working age to do:
Learn some skills and land a job.
He had just graduated from welding school and was set to start a job on June 23.
His life was tragically cut short on June 21 when he was shot while trying to break up a fight under the Greenwood overpass as the final festival night of Juneteenth was supposed to be winding down, his family said.
The violence that took Knight’s life also left seven others injured. Shermita Lewis-Theroit, 59, was critically wounded. A Saturday night upbeat celebration was turned into a crime scene. Police shut down Greenwood Avenue – the center of events. They kept the business owners and staff between the I-244 overpass and Archer in their buildings until daybreak. Police have not released further details of the investigation.
On June 24 The Tulsa Police Department announced on social media it had arrested 19-year-old Timetrious Moore for 2nd Degree Murder for Knight’s death in the shooting.
Moore was no stranger to Tulsa and Oklahoma County jurists. Judge April Seibert approved a Warrant of Arrest against Moore on March 31, 2022, and $50,000 bond related to an alleged “Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon” incident in Nov. 2021. The alleged “Youthful Offender” (YO) Moore was just shy of turning 16-years-old in Feb. 2022.
After 11 months of court proceedings, the case against Moore was dismissed in Feb. 2023, according to Oklahoma State Courts Network information.
The following year, Moore was charged with one count of Possession of a Firearm After Juvenile Adjudication, a felony, and was required to secure a $10,000 bond.
Seibert also presided over the 2023 case, eventually dismissing it. That freed Moore in July 2024, although conditionally, as his sentencing was deferred for four years until July 2028.
The Knight and Lewis families gathered for a news conference with the Deep Greenwood Foundation on June 24, along with The Greenwood Chamber of Commerce and business owners in the district. The group included Knight’s aunt, Endia Knight, who operates Endia’s Plate, the Chamber’s events center and catering business. Knight spoke on behalf of Isaiah’s mother and family, who also were present.
Knight told The Oklahoma Eagle she verbally ran off several youths (teens to early 20s) from the area multiple times during the block party on June 20 and the festival that followed over two days.
“I am not saying they were involved, but some were suspicious wearing hoodies, long pants (despite the 90 plus degree temperatures) and face masks,” she said.
At the least, police should have been called to pull them to the side to see what they were doing and learn more about them, Knight said. The fact that it didn’t happen was a slap in the face to Greenwood, she feels.
Greenwood stakeholders used the meeting to make a call to action for better event management and planning. They outlined their “long-time safety concerns” for events held in the district. They cited poor or no lighting in the area, lack of porta-potties and inadequate cleanup, and no clear crowd management plans.
The Council passed a curfew ordinance requested by City leadership in a 7-1 vote with amendments Wednesday night. Councilor Laura Bellis, an original sponsor of the ordinance, is on maternity leave and was unable to attend the council meeting.
The curfew was the most controversial proposal of the Mayor’s strategies.
a lack of unreliable and dim lighting in the area, sanitation, and inadequate crowd management plans. Nash said they are inviting Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols, City of Tulsa leaders and the public to a community forum in the Greenwood District to present safety proposals at 6 p.m. on July 1, at Honey Love Wing Supreme, 140 N. Greenwood.
According to the City of Tulsa Special Events Permitting website, the Juneteenth organizer provided an event plan as required when applying for a special event permit. Tulsa Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, a member of the Juneteenth board, said they followed the plan closely.
Additional Requests of City Leaders
Although the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce and businesses on the street, are not organizers of the annual festival, they are seeking:
A seat at the table with City leadership to co-create public safety and security plans tailored to events in Greenwood.
Revised, enforceable event permitting guidelines specific to the Greenwood District.
Transparency and oversight in the city event approval processes.
Equal attention to safety planning as is provided in other areas of Tulsa.
Heather Nash, Executive Director of the Deep Greenwood Foundation, said their assertions are not tied to placing blame, but rather to “put an end to a pattern of oversight and neglect that places our community at risk.”
Expanded Juvenile Curfew
Following the Juneteenth event, city officials held news conference to outline strategies for stemming youth violence. (See Story here.
The Council passed a curfew ordinance requested by City leadership in a 7-1 vote with amendments Wednesday night. Councilor Laura Bellis, an original sponsor of the ordinance, is on maternity leave and was unable to attend the council meeting.
The curfew was the most controversial proposal of the Mayor’s strategies.
Councilors voted to an extended curfew for youth 17 and younger within the central business district for only three nights, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, instead of the seven that were originally proposed.. It carried a modified sunset clause that was moved up by five months to Oct. 22, 2025 from March 31, 2026 as originally proposed.
Twelve Tulsans spoke during the meeting regarding their concerns about the ordinance. Business owners asked for “help” from the City to curb their losses due to teen-related issues. Others asked that the ordinance not be a “knee jerk reaction” to a problem and to prioritize youth over businesses.
Public Safety Commissioner Lauren Roberts said the ordinance allows a greater opportunity for police to enforce earlier in the night because by midnight the crowds are too large to address juvenile curfews and focus goes to drunkenness as priorities.
At an earlier Urban and Economic Development Committee meeting, two councilors said they’d prefer that the ordinance include all of Tulsa.
Councilor Karen Gilbert, who represents District 5, emphasized that the ordinance is just the beginning of many steps the City will take to protect juveniles and that it should go into effect immediately. Deputy Chief Mark Wollmershauser Jr. also reiterated that the steps taken are meant to protect the innocent juveniles who attend events, but are then exposed to the behavior of youth who do intend to cause trouble and likely won’t be scared away by a curfew.
“What we want to do is be able to protect. So if you have 10 juveniles, if we can get seven of them out of that environment earlier…now we’ve definitely protected those seven, and we can focus on the three that we’re going to have to take more enforcement approach with, because they’re down there with guns looking to cause problems,” he said.
In the last three years, Police have recovered about 150 guns just inside the downtown area. In 2024, they seized 800-900 firearms citywide, Wollmershauser said.
Downtown Curfew Hour Offenses
The following are considered offenses under the proposed ordinance.
- A juvenile commits an offense if he/she remains in any public place or in a privately owned parking area within the Central Business District during Downtown Curfew Hours.
- A parent and/or other responsible adult of a juvenile commits an offense if he/she knowingly permits or allows the juvenile to remain in any public place or in a privately owned parking area within the Central Business District during Downtown Curfew Hours.
- The owner, operator or any employee of a privately owned parking area
commits an offense if he/she knowingly permits or allows a juvenile to remain. upon the premises of the privately owned parking area within the Central Business District during Downtown Curfew Hours.
The proposed ordinance lists nine possible defenses as well, including accompaniment by a parent or responsible adult, traveling to and from work or official events supervised by adults or sponsored by the City of Tulsa, or a civic organization or other entity “that takes responsibility for the juvenile.”
Curfew strategies adopted to stem the tide of youth violence are solutions considered by city leaders nationwide.
Police and some councilors pointed to Oklahoma City which has a juvenile curfew that also begins at 9 p.m. in Bricktown. According to news reports, police officers gather in areas they know they’ll encounter youths, like outside the movie theater, to let them know curfew has arrived. This month, the Chicago City Council voted 27-22 to allow Chicago Police Department officials to preemptively impose a “Snap curfew” anywhere in the city and begin enforcing it within just 30 minutes. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has said such measures “…create tensions between residents and law enforcement at a time when we have worked so hard to rebuild that trust.”
