Stanley Majors, who was also charged with first-degree murder, had used racial slurs and violence against Khalid Jabara’s family in feud that lasted years

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Prosecutors charged a Tulsa man on Tuesday with first-degree murder and committing a hate crime in the killing of his Lebanese neighbor – a culmination of what authorities said was the man’s violent feud with the family that spanned several years and included a regular barrage of racial insults and personal confrontations.

Stanley Majors, 61, was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and threatening a violent act in the 12 August fatal shooting of 37-year-old Khalid Jabara. The hate crime charge is a misdemeanor under Oklahoma law and accuses Majors of intimidating and harassing Jabara and his mother, Haifa Jabara, “because of race, color, religion, ancestry and national origin”, according to court papers filed on Tuesday by prosecutors.

Majors is scheduled for arraignment in district court on Wednesday.

Majors spent years in conflict with the Jabara family, often hurling epithets such as “filthy Lebanese”, “dirty Arabs” and “Moo-slems” at his nextdoor neighbors, authorities said. The Jabaras are actually Christian.

Lebanese immigrants have long been a visible part of the Oklahoma population, with many making their living as merchants, restaurateurs and grocers.

The alleged abuse between the neighbors escalated to the point where Haifa Jabara obtained a protective order in 2013 that required Majors to stay 300 yards away and prohibited him from possessing any firearms until 2018. Majors also had a 2009 felony conviction from California for threatening a crime with intent to terrorize.

But last year, Majors was accused of plowing his car into Haifa Jabara. She suffered a broken shoulder, among other injuries. After Majors struck her, he kept driving, prosecutors said. Officers who stopped him later reported that he was intoxicated. Prosecutors charged Majors last September with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, leaving the scene of a collision violating the protective order and public intoxication.

Majors’ conflict with the Jabara family also put him at odds with his husband, Stephen Schmauss, who came to befriend Khalid and thought of him as an apprentice, teaching him how to use power tools and computer circuitry. Last week, Schmauss said his husband had killed his “best friend”.

Khalid Jabara’s slaying drew national attention, including a mention from presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said her “heart breaks” for Jabara’s loved ones.

Schmauss tried to explain Majors’ comments, saying his husband is “textbook bipolar” and a diabetic who refuses to take any medication. Schmauss said anything Majors said to the Jabara family was “done under the bipolar situation”.

While awaiting trial for assault and battery, a judge freed Majors from jail on $60,000 bond, overruling strong objections by Tulsa County prosecutors, who called him “a substantial risk to the public” and pleaded with the court to set a higher bond of $300,000.

