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TULSA – The last words Valentino "Tony” Verner’s mother heard from her only son were, "I’ll see you later.”

But just before 3 a.m. Feb. 28, multiple gunshots fired point-blank sent her son sprawling in front of the pick-up window at a fast food restaurant.

What happened next shocked even seasoned police and emergency responders.

Customers outside the Chicken Hut stepped over and around the 27-year-old dying man, emergency workers said.

"This patient was lying at the window and they were stepping over him and getting their food,” said James Postoak, EMSA paramedic supervisor.

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"I don’t know if they were angry that we were keeping them from getting their food. They were hostile,” he said.

Screaming insults and curses at emergency workers, some of the roughly 150 people crowded so close that emergency technicians had difficulty getting Verner hooked up to an IV and on the stretcher, said Tina Wells, EMSA spokeswoman.

In seven minutes, including the time they waited two blocks away until police could get the scene stabilized, the EMTs whisked Verner away to surgery at St. John Medical Center.

As his family waited, Verner died in surgery at 4:30 a.m.

"The people (at the restaurant) were so disrespectful, including the owners,” his mother, Oretha Verner, said.

"There should be some common decency.”

 

A young father

Tony Verner spent a lot of time with his two boys, ages 8 and 9.

His mother’s voice broke as she marveled at the picture of a preschool age Tony Verner dressed in a little yellow jacket trimmed in blue to match his trousers. Tony Verner’s own son, dressed in the same little suit, looked just like him, she said.

Before the funeral, one son wrote his father a letter that portrayed their close bonds.

"Dear Daddy,

"I will miss you very much. I wish you were here so we can play games and we can play with the dogs.

"I miss the times when we were styling.

"I pray that God keeps you in the name of Jesus.”

The victim’s oldest sister, Renee McCaskill, said along with his boys and dog Patches, Verner loved music and his mother, and considered 42-year-old McCaskill his second mother.

"He was a mama’s boy,” McCaskill said. "I can’t even describe how he loved our mother.”

Tony Verner always tried to make sure his mother was comfortable and happy. As he prepared to fly in an airplane at the age of 5, he turned to his mother and told her, "Mama, if the plane falls, I’ll tell you.”

Because Tony Verner was her youngest child and her only biological son, Oretha Verner said everyone considered him spoiled.

But she said he got only the things he needed.

"If I could have him back I’d spoil him today,” Verner said.

His mother said he lived with her at the time of the shooting and they liked to sit together and watch a TV talent show for gospel musicians called "Sunday Best.” Tony Verner, proud owner of a Monte Carlo, also liked to watch the car fix-up TV show, "Pimp My Ride,” with his mother, even though all she knew about cars was "they have four wheels, you have to put gas in them and sometimes take them to the repair shop.”

Tony Verner graduated from Central High School in Tulsa.

He attended Tulsa Community College, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and Phoenix University. His mother said he wanted to go into the criminal justice field.

 

The aftermath

"This was up close and personal,” Tulsa police Sgt. Mike Eckert said of the criminal case that has baffled him. "I think this person was targeted. This person walked through a lot of people to get to the victim and the shots were fired in close proximity. It was obvious that he was the intended victim.”

Eckert said about 10 officers were there but 20 or 30 probably would have made it safer and increased the odds of finding a good witness. Tony Verner’s sister, Jackie Verner, was with him when he was shot but became hysterical and could relay only limited information about the shooter, Eckert said.

Eckert, the patrol supervisor, said the department sometimes assigned two to eight officers to essentially work security at the restaurant.

He said the restaurant opens late and stays open until about 4 a.m. on weekends and could attract lawbreakers because of the hours.

"Some people might be quick to say, ‘Oh, that’s just north Tulsa,’ but it’s not that,” Sgt. Ron Kawano said. "It’s more of a mob mentality or the ‘no-snitch’ mentality.”

 

Family pleads for help

The autopsy report isn’t ready. Medical examiner office spokeswoman Cherokee Ballard said all they know for certain is that Tony Verner suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

His mother said it was unimaginable and that she knows of no one who cares so little about another human life or would want to harm her son. She wonders if it was a case of mistaken identity.

"I have two prayers,” she said, her voice breaking. "I pray Tony didn’t feel pain. And I pray that there is justice for Tony. ... I don’t want vengeance. I just want justice for Tony.”

She and his sister, McCaskill, urge anyone who saw anything to contact police.

To provide an anonymous tip, call Tulsa Crimestoppers at (918) 596-2677.