Shooting case gets mom’s side

By Barry Porterfield

A Pauls Valley mother says there is a whole other side when it comes to her son and the recent shooting incident that landed him in jail.

Donna Lane believes her son, 19-year-old Derrick, did nothing wrong and has been falsely portrayed as a bad guy when she says it’s just the opposite.

Derrick Lane was involved in a shooting on Halloween night. There were no injuries, but Donna Lane is clear about her belief the fault belongs with a handful of other male subjects she described as friends.

Lane said her son was shot at, not the other way around.

“They have pulled out I don’t know how many bullets from the side of my house,” she said.

Lane’s son has been formally accused of firing multiple shots at other people after earlier being involved in an argument with an unnamed juvenile.

Lane says it was those other people who were shooting at her son and her house in the 300 block of East Avenue.

She claims it all started when her son went to a neighbor’s house in the nearby 100 block of Jefferson to get the $200 he previously loaned to Christopher Gilley, 24.

“When he went over there to collect his money, three guys jumped him,” Lane said, adding Gilley wasn’t among them.

“He broke away and ran to the house. When he was running they were shooting at him. They were shooting up my home and at my son,” she said.

As the incident unfolded, Lane said she and others inside her residence were facing a barrage of bullets coming their way.

“I was ducking and trying to get my mom on the floor. She’s disabled and paralyzed on one side,” she said.

Lane claims there were two guns involved — one used by a male subject firing at her son, while she believes Gilley fired a single shot into the air.

At that point Donna Lane said Derrick retrieved a sawed-off weapon, went outside and fired a single shot into the air.

“He did it to protect his family. He was trying to stop them from shooting at us.”

Lane said her son then went into his residence and waited for police to arrive offering them no resistance when they arrived.

“Derrick gave them his gun, put his hands behind his back and was arrested.”

The result is the younger Lane has been charged with multiple offenses in Garvin County District Court. He’s charged with shooting with intent to kill, assault with a dangerous weapon and three felonies related to theft allegations and possession of a sawed-off rifle.

During a hearing Friday afternoon on a request by prosecutors that Lane be held in jail and not allowed to post bond for release, Lane’s bond was set at $50,000 for the most serious of the shooting charges with smaller bond amounts for the other charges.

All of it brings even more difficulties for Donna Lane and her family.

“It makes him look like he’s a murderer when he’s the one I could be burying today,” she said. “He is not a threat to society. He’s done wrong, but he’s a good kid.”

Gilley was charged with misdemeanor drug and paraphernalia charges stemming from the incident. Two unnamed juveniles were also reported to be arrested after the Oct. 31 incident.

“All they got them on was the marijuana, but there were no bullets found at their house, in their yard,” Lane said, referring to her claim they were doing the shooting.

She also defended her son on one theft charge claiming a watch later reported stolen was given to him, while it’s her contention a car stereo he purchased was later discovered to be stolen.