Girl, 15, charged in slaying

MCLOUD — A month after the shooting death of high school sophomore Kaylen Thomas, prosecutors have decided to file a charge against a 15-year-old girl who allegedly was reckless with a gun, a prosecutor said Monday.

Thomas, 16, was shot in the head Oct. 5 at her friend’s home in McLoud. She was taken to the University of Oklahoma Medical Center where she died. The state medical examiner’s office reported the death as a homicide.

Isabella Irene Sabas, 15, of McLoud, a McLoud High School sophomore, faces a charge of first-degree manslaughter, said prosecutor Adam Panter, first assistant district attorney for Pottawatomie County.

Panter said Sabas held the gun that killed Thomas in a bedroom at Sabas’ home in McLoud.

After a month of investigation, a decision was reached Monday to charge Sabas, and the charge is expected to be filed Tuesday in Pottawatomie County District Court, Panter said.

Investigators had a difficult time getting the witnesses to talk, Panter said.

McLoud Schools are on a four-day school week and are out of class Fridays. Thomas, Sabas and a 17-year-old boy were in a bedroom on the Friday when Thomas was shot, Panter said.

The boy faces a juvenile charge of being an accessory to first-degree manslaughter, Panter said.

Panter said prosecutors allege Salas had a loaded 9 mm pistol in a bedroom, and she was handling it recklessly when it went off.

Investigators have not been able to determine where the gun came from, or who brought it into the home, Panter said. One other teenager was at home at the time of the shooting, but was not in the room where it happened, Panter said.

Panter said Sabas is being charged as a youthful offender, which means a judge could determine whether she could be sentenced as a juvenile or as an adult if convicted.

“This charge is the most severe we feel we could file because of her age,” Panter said.

The 17-year-old boy, whose name has not been released, is not a McLoud High School student.

Salas and the boy remained in custody Monday in separate juvenile detention centers, Panter said.