A family is shattered, and now grieving the life of Austin Standeford who was one of the victims in a double homicide in Bartlesville on Dec. 13.

Mike Standeford, described his son, forty-year-old Austin Standeford, as the light and love of his life.

“He was my baby, everything I had.”Standeford, a Vietnam veteran, did not think he’d ever outlive his son. It hasn’t hit yet. You know death is such a final thing,” shared Mike Standeford. “You know I was in Vietnam for two and a half years, and I learned lots about death there.”

Standeford says his son, who was doing contract carpentry work for the Kickstand Bar, was visiting Bartlesville from Richmond, Virginia to celebrate his daughter’s 12th birthday. Monday night was supposed to be a night of relaxing at the Kickstand Bar.

“It’s going to happen to all of us,” Standeford remarked. “You just don’t want to see it happen like that to somebody like my son who was a very good guy.”

Bartlesville Police Chief Tracy Roles says investigators are still trying to piece together exactly what happened. Roles says what began as an argument ended in the shooting death of 40-year old Austin Standeford and 29-year old Van Parson.

”At some point the verbal confrontation led to a physical altercation, which then led to Mr. Rogers producing a handgun and shooting Mr. Standeford and Mr. Parson,” said Chief Roles.

The chief says Gregory Rogers, who lives in Tulsa, arrived at a Tulsa hospital Monday night by ambulance for a gunshot wound to his forearm area. Roles is not sure when the gunshot occurred. Rogers left without receiving treatment.

Roles says Rogers turned himself into the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday morning.

Bartlesville detectives questioned 51-year old Gregory Rogers Tuesday afternoon as they tried to determine what led up to the shooting.

Roles says the second shooting victim, Van Parson, also worked at the bar.

He says investigators found another firearm they believe belongs to one of the two victims, but they’re not sure which one or if the gun was inside the bar at the time of the shooting. They are waiting on a forensic analysis of the surveillance video to try and determine exactly what unfolded.

The chief says both victims were members of the Mongols motorcycle gang, but he doesn’t know if that had anything to do with the loss of life at the Kickstand Bar.

Rogers, who has a prior felony conviction, was expected to be formally arraigned on Wednesday, December 15th in Bartlesville. He’s facing 2 counts of first-degree murder.

A father, meanwhile, is trying to process the loss of his son.

“He was just, all around good person. Always helping people, and always smiling. He loved his daughter with all his heart,” said Mike Standeford.

©2021 Cox Media Group