Murder, hate crime charges filed against neighbor in shooting death of Khalid Jabara

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) - A first-degree murder charge was filed Tuesday against the man accused of shooting and killing Khalid Jabara.

The 37-year-old Jabara died Aug. 12 after police say Stanley Vernon Majors shot him multiple times outside his south Tulsa home, which he shared with his parents. Majors lives next door.

"The death of Khalid Jabara is tragic and our sympathies are with his family," said Steve Kunzweiler, Tulsa County district attorney.

Majors is also charged with firearm possession after a previous felony conviction, a felony, as well as misdemeanors malicious intimidation and harassment, and threatening a violent act.

The Jabara family released this statement Tuesday after Majors was formally charged:

As we continue to struggle with our pain and loss, we were heartened to be informed by the district attorney that Stanley Vernon Majors has been charged with murder in the first degree, possession of a firearm after former conviction of a felony, malicious intimidation or harassment, and threatening an act of violence. We are encouraged that the government is marshaling the full weight of law to respond appropriately to the heinous crime inflicted upon us.

Our parents raised us to be patriotic Americans, proud of our Lebanese heritage and our community's contributions to our country. In charging Majors with a hate crime in addition to first-degree murder, the district attorney's office is making a much-needed and powerful statement that hatred and violence based on race, color, religion, ancestry, and national origin has no place in our society. It is an appropriate moment in our local and national conversation for a reassertion of the foundational and quintessentially American values of equality and tolerance.

Our anguish is compounded because for many years we diligently pursued every available legal means to protect ourselves and others from someone who posed a constant threat of potential violence, and who eventually proved a fatal menace. Despite the overwhelming evidence we marshaled of a palpable threat of danger and hate facing us on a daily basis, the existing legal mechanisms proved insufficient to protect our beloved Khalid and our mother. We will therefore continue to not only advocate for justice for Khalid, but also to call for reform of the law enforcement and justice systems so that no other family has to suffer such imaginable, and, given the circumstances almost certainly preventable, loss and pain.

After Khalid Jabara's murder, his family said they believed Majors should be charged with a hate crime based on his "history of bigotry against our family," reads an earlier statement from the Jabaras. "He repeatedly attacked our ethnicity and perceived religion, making racist comments."

The Jabaras say Majors called them "dirty Arabs," "filthy Lebanese," "Aye-rabs" and "Mooslems," even though the family is Christian.

Oklahoma law defines a "hate crime" as the malicious intimidation or harassment of a person or persons based on race, color, religion, ancestry and/or national origin.

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The Jabara family says they've had multiple run-ins with Majors over the years, resulting in protective orders being filed from both sides.

Last fall, the family says Majors hit Khalid Jabara's mother, Haifa, with a vehicle and she has since undergone multiple surgeries and rehabilitation for her injuries.

Majors was awaiting trial for Haifa Jabara's assault when Khalid Jabara was killed.

According to court records, Majors was convicted in 2009 of threatening crime with the intent to terrorize in the state of California for which he was sentenced to 16 months behind bars.