An Oklahoma man playing target practice in his backyard with his new handgun fatally shot a neighbor blocks away as she cradled a child and chatted with family on Christmas Day, authorities in Stephens County said.
Police charged Cody Wayne Adams, 33, with first-degree manslaughter after one of his bullets allegedly struck Sandra Phelps, who was sitting on a loveseat on a covered front porch with her relatives, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Daily News. The two homes were about three-tenths of a mile apart, or nearly 1,600 feet, The News calculated.
Phelps held one youngster in her left arm, and another child was in a stroller directly in front of her. Two adult family members were also on hand, authorities said. The family members heard “someone shooting periodically 5-7 rounds over several minutes to the north,” witnesses told police, according to the affidavit, prompting Phelps to remark someone must have gotten a new gun for Christmas.
“Shortly after, Sandra said, ‘Ouch,’ and collapsed,” the affidavit stated. “There were no further gunshots after this.”
Emergency personnel received a gunshot-wound report at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. A single bullet traveling at an “extremely downward angle” had gone through Phelps’ right upper arm and pierced her chest just below the armpit, according to the affidavit. Despite CPR attempts, she was declared dead at the scene.
Seeking the source of the lethal stray, investigators canvassed the area and homed in on Adams’ house, the only known shooting spot in the area that lacked suitable firing locations or shooting backstops. Neighbors had heard him shoot about 20 rounds that afternoon, and Adams freely admitted he had been firing at a Red Bull can on the ground with the new gun he’d bought for Christmas. He had also heard about the gun death.
Spent casings were scattered on the ground and the deck, and responders’ flashing red and blue lights at the shooting scene were “visibly in line with the shooting angle” Adams described, the affidavit said. Arresting officer Captain Timothy Vann also noted a small piece of broken ceramic tile just in front of the Red Bull can — and realized one of Adams’ bullets had ricocheted off it at an angle that explained its trajectory into Phelps’ arm, he stated in the affidavit.
“I then informed Adams what had occurred on Oliver Road and that I suspected that his shooting may have caused the death of Sandra,” Vann stated. “Adams became visibly upset and began to cry.”
Asked what he had to say, Adams responded, “ ‘I’m sorry.’ ”
Adams appeared in court on the manslaughter charge Friday and was released on $100,000 bond. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing Feb. 25, 2026, according to court records.
