Former Oklahoma Judge Arrested After Allegedly Pulling a Weapon on Trick-or-Treaters and a Responding Police Officer

Officers were dispatched to Linwood Lane on Halloween night. The dispatch was because someone had reported that a resident had allegedly fired a gun in the direction of trick-or-treaters. Officers reached the location that the report had specified, and witnesses directed them toward the residence where the alleged gunfire had occurred.

The police identified the residence of 73-year-old Jerry Herberger. Herberger had been a former Stephens County judge, but was no longer actively working as a judge. In particular, he served as a Stephens County judge in 2020, and he was also a special judge as far back as 2020, according to an Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals publication. It’s unknown when or why he stopped being a judge.

Officers approached the home, but Herberger allegedly stopped the officers by pointing his gun toward one of the responding officers. The situation did end without further violence, as the police said that Herberger complied with their commands and exited the residence before being taken into custody.

Herberger was transported to the Stephens County Jail, where he faced several charges. These charges include assault and battery with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, and possession of a firearm while intoxicated. Herberger’s alleged state of intoxication wasn’t mentioned in the initial reports and came out later, after he was arrested.

According to reports, none of the trick-or-treaters were injured, and everyone involved was safe. However, much of the information is still unknown. This information includes how many children were in the area, whether the alleged shots even hit anyone, and whether any child or parents were directly confronted. It’s also unknown what the exact reason for the alleged shooting was. The one thing that police officials confirmed was that the individual complied with officers’ commands and exited the residence, where he was taken into custody without further incident.