A Moore couple is facing child endangerment charges after law enforcement discovered their 13-year-old daughter sitting in the back seat during a DUI checkpoint stop near Lake Thunderbird in May. Brandon Alford also faces a felony DUI count following the arrest, which authorities say unfolded after officers suspected both adults in the vehicle were intoxicated.
According to KFOR, Brandon and Karis Alford were pulled over at a DUI checkpoint in May with their teenage daughter in the vehicle. The outlet reports that law enforcement stopped the pair during a traffic checkpoint on a road near Lake Thunderbird, and that the couple's daughter was sitting in the rear of the vehicle throughout the officers' interaction with her parents.
During the stop, Brandon Alford acknowledged consuming three beers that evening, the station's report states. He was then given a field sobriety assessment, which he failed. Officers also said Karis Alford appeared to be intoxicated, and authorities ultimately took both individuals into custody following the stop.
Charges Stack Up for Both Parents
Brandon Alford and Karis Alford both face child endangerment charges stemming from having their daughter in the car during the encounter.
Oklahoma's child-endangerment statute, as published by OSCN, covers knowingly permitting a child to be in a vehicle when a person knows or should have known the operator was impaired. Under that statute, the offense is classified as a Class B6 felony, carrying a potential sentence of up to four years in prison, a fine of as much as $5,000, or both. The law also outlines an affirmative defense for someone who reasonably believed that stopping or refusing to let a child ride with an intoxicated person would have caused substantial bodily harm to the child or themselves, according to OSCN.
What Oklahoma's DUI Law Says About Repeat Offenses
Separately, Oklahoma's DUI statute, also on file with OSCN, states that a subsequent violation committed within ten years of completing a prior sentence or deferred judgment is treated as a Class C2 felony.
No additional details on the Alfords' booking, bond status, or upcoming court proceedings have been made public through the sources reviewed for this report.
