Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation   Stan Florence  Director   Jessica Brown Public Information Director

02/24/11                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

Sallisaw Police Officer Arrested on False Crime

The Sallisaw Police Office who claimed another man had shot him earlier in the week was arrested this afternoon at his rural residence four miles northeast of town.  Monday (02/21/11) , Wendel Hughes (d.o.b. 05-01-75) called the Sallisaw Police Department and claimed Mark Sweeney had shot him while he was driving along Highway 64.  Sallisaw Officers arrested Sweeney for the shooting and called in OSBI agents.  Agents determined that Hughes accidentally shot himself.  Today, charges were filed against Hughes for Intimidation of a State Witness, Offering False Evidence, and False Reporting of a Crime. The first two are felonies.  Hughes has since been terminated from the Sallisaw Police Department.