A Rogers County reserve deputy and detention officer was arrested early Saturday after deputies say they found him driving drunk on Highway 66 with a loaded firearm in his possession. Kain Barrett, who works at the Amos G. Ward Detention Center, was placed on administrative leave while the sheriff's office investigates.
Deputies stopped Barrett around 3 a.m. Saturday following reports of a possibly intoxicated driver on Highway 66, according to KTUL. Per the sheriff's office, Barrett faced DUI charges after being found driving intoxicated with a loaded gun, and he was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence and transporting a loaded firearm under the influence. The Rogers County Sheriff's Office is conducting an internal investigation, and the case will be sent to the Rogers County District Attorney's Office for review.
Barrett was hired into a full-time role with the sheriff's office in August 2025, according to county commission records, meaning he had served with the agency for roughly a year before his arrest. He worked as a detention deputy at the Amos G. Ward Detention Center in Claremore, a facility built in 2000 that holds approximately 250 inmates and employs around 35 detention officers under the sheriff's office's detention division.
What Oklahoma Law Says About Guns and Impairment
Under Oklahoma statute 21 O.S. § 1289.9, carrying or possessing a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a crime punishable by up to six months in jail, fines between $50 and $500, and mandatory handgun license suspension. Separately, a first-offense DUI conviction under 47 O.S. § 11-902 carries penalties of up to one year in county jail, fines up to $1,000, driver's license suspension, and a mandatory drug and alcohol assessment. Improperly transporting a loaded firearm without a permit alone would typically draw just a $70 fine plus court costs under 21 O.S. § 1289.13A, but pairing that with impaired driving escalates the matter into criminal weapon charges.
Barrett's arrest marks the second high-profile DUI case involving a Rogers County deputy in just 13 months. In July 2025, Deputy Justin Book was arrested on suspicion of DUI after allegedly driving his patrol car erratically and striking a street sign and his own mailbox in Claremore, as reported by Ponca City Now. Book had admitted to taking Ambien and consuming alcohol before that arrest.
A Department Already Stretched Thin
The arrest lands amid a stretch of turbulence for the Rogers County Sheriff's Office and the jail Barrett worked at. Sheriff Scott Walton publicly acknowledged in March that his department suffers from severe understaffing, operating with roughly half the detention and patrol officers needed, comments he made after an administrative jail error. That same month, the Amos G. Ward Detention Center mistakenly released the wrong inmate due to similar administrative details, forcing local police to track the detainee down, a case Hoodline previously covered.
The jail also faced a cybersecurity breach in July, when hackers leaked sensitive inmate data including Social Security numbers and driver's license records, prompting state law enforcement involvement. The detention center is named for former Rogers County Sheriff Amos G. Ward, who served 32 years from 1949 to 1981 after taking office at 31 as Oklahoma's youngest elected sheriff at the time.
It remains unclear whether the Rogers County District Attorney will file formal misdemeanor charges or pursue enhanced charges under the state's firearm-under-the-influence statutes against Barrett. The outcome of the sheriff's office's internal investigation, along with Barrett's employment status while he remains on administrative leave, has not yet been resolved.
