DA’s ‘Full Focus’ Is on Lane Case

Richard Rainwater

“It’s a complex case. It covers multiple counties in multiple states.”

Those are the words of Jack Thorp, district attorney for both Sequoyah County and Cherokee County.

He was speaking about the death of Larry Lane Sr. at his home in Keys in Cherokee County. Sequoyah County Sheriff Larry Lane Jr. is the son of Lane Sr. Lane Jr. was an investigator for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office before his election as the Sequoyah County Sheriff.

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is heading up the investigation into the death of Lane Sr., who was found at his home in Keys, in Cherokee County, on Saturday. The death is being investigated as a homicide with the help of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI).

Lane’s body is at the State Medical Examiner’s Office to determine a cause of death. Thorp said he has been advised of some preliminary findings, but because the investigation is ongoing he cannot release any more information yet.

Richard Rainwater, 44, is alleged to have stolen Lane Sr.’s vehicle, cell phone and credit or debit card. He was arrested in a Memphis mental facility on a Sequoyah County warrant for larceny of an automobile on Sunday. A vehicle Rainwater borrowed from a Sequoyah County resident, and failed to return, was found at Lane Sr.’s home, and Lane Sr.’s vehicle was found in West Memphis, Thorp said.

Thorp said Rainwater is being held in the Shelby County (Tennessee) Jail, awaiting extradition to Sequoyah County. 

“He has the right to fight extradition,” Thorp said.

If he does, the next step, Thorp said, is to ask Oklahoma’s governor to request extradition through the Tennessee governor.

Thorp said he did not know if Rainwater and Lane Sr. knew one another, but the early investigation suggests they may have.

Thorp said, “The full focus of our office, the offices of the Cherokee and Sequoyah County Sheriffs and the OSBI is on this case. I have full confidence in their ability to solve this case.”

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

For more news stories stay tuned to The MIX 105.1 or visit www.kxmx.com