David Ware, who shot and killed a Tulsa police officer and caused severe injuries to a second officer, was found guilty of murder and several other charges against him.

A jury in Tulsa found Ware guilty of first-degree murder, shooting with intent to kill, possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, possession of drugs with intent to distribute and obstructing an officer, according to KJRH.

Two officers with the Tulsa Police Department pulled over a vehicle in the 8900 block of East 21st Street in June of 2020.

Investigators say the officers, Sgt. Craig Johnson and Officer Aurash Zarkeshan, asked the driver, Ware, to get out of his vehicle 12 times. When he refused, a taser was deployed.

The officers were unable to subdue Ware with the taser. They then used pepper spray on the suspect. The officers got Ware out of the vehicle, but he then pulled out a gun and opened fire.

“The bullets found their mark, struck the officers, and the officers were critically injured. The officers went down and the driver slowly walked away from the vehicle and got into a waiting vehicle that had arrived to the scene and drove away,” said Chief Wendell Franklin, with the Tulsa Police Department.

Johnson and Zarkeshan were both shot multiple times. The two officers were rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

Sadly, officials with the Tulsa Police Department announced that Johnson passed away from his injuries the next day.

“Yesterday, he sustained multiple gunshot wounds, one of which was critical. He underwent surgery. Doctors and nurses attempted and tried everything that they could to save his life. Today, Sgt. Craig Johnson passed away,” said Chief Franklin.

Ware pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Officials also arrested Matthew Hall, who they say was Ware’s getaway driver from the scene. Hall was found guilty of two counts of accessory to a felony and sentenced to 24 years in prison.

A Tulsa police officer who was wounded in a shooting that killed a police sergeant told jurors Thursday that he does not remember the events of that night, including what led to the gunfire.

Officer Aurash Zarkeshan testified in the murder trial of David Anthony Ware, saying he has not watched video of the June 2020 shooting that killed Sgt. Craig Johnson because “I don’t want to see myself or my friend be shot.”

Defense attorney Kevin Adams has said that Ware, 34, feared for his life because the officers beat, kicked, pepper sprayed and shot him with a stun gun after a traffic stop. Prosecutors say Ware escalated the situation by refusing to obey the officers’ commands as they sought to get him out of his vehicle.

Under cross-examination by Adams, Zarkeshan acknowledged that videos would show truthfully the events leading to the shooting, but that he still does not want to watch.

“If finding out the truth means I have to watch myself and my friend be shot, then I don’t want to know” exactly what happened, Zarkeshan said.

Ware, who is also charged with shooting with intent to kill Zarkeshan, has pleaded not guilty. He faces a possible death sentence if convicted.

Zarkeshan denied that a social media post in which he said he was employed by the city of Tulsa’s waste management department was a reference to suspected criminals being garbage.

Zarkeshan said he never worked for the city’s waste management department and that the post was a “bad joke” when he was in police academy. He said he wanted to show he worked for the city, but not that he was with the Tulsa Police Department because he was not yet an officer.

Zarkeshan had been on patrol for less than six weeks before the shooting after graduating from the police academy in the spring, according to police.

Assistant District Attorney Kevin Gray said during opening statements that Zarkeshan pulled Ware over about 3 a.m. after he saw him run a stop sign and then take a wide turn into another lane of traffic. Ware then failed to produce a driver’s license or proof of insurance when Zarkeshan asked him to provide those documents, Gray said.

Matthew Hall was convicted of being an accessory to a felony for driving Ware from the scene after the shooting.

Traffic stop goes Horrifically wrong for two police officers and ends in Tragedy… pic.twitter.com/LHZuUK0KtI

— Southland Post (@SouthlandPost) April 23, 2023