PERRY, Okla. — A Noble County judge has ordered a Perry man to stand trial on a first-degree murder charge.

The judge ruled after hearing both incriminating, tearful testimony and information suggesting the man may have acted in self-defense after a day of drinking and horseplay with a buddy.

Shane Rupp, 23, of Perry, is accused of shooting his friend Donnie Talley to death last May. Talley was shot while at Rupp’s house at 1125 Fir St. in Perry on May 8. Rupp is also charged with cultivating marijuana. Perry police contend they found marijuana plants in Rupp’s house while investigating the shooting.

Special District Judge W. Lee Stout called the shooting death “an unfortunate event” for Talley and Rupp.

“However, Mr. Talley is dead and I’m convinced Mr. Rupp is the one that killed him,” Stout said.

Noble County District Attorney Brian Hermanson called three witnesses at Tuesday’s preliminary hearing. At a preliminary hearing, a judge hears testimony and reviews evidence to decide whether a crime has been committed and there is sufficient evidence to show the defendant may have committed the crime. If so, the judge orders a jury trial, as Stout did Tuesday.

The first witness in Rupp’s hearing was Clarissa Talley, Donnie Talley’s sister-in-law.

She told the judge she went to Rupp’s house with Donnie Talley and two teens — Kayla Herrington and Cheyenne Harrison. When they went inside the house, Donnie Talley and Rupp began wrestling, she testified. They were long-time friends and they always horsed around, she said.

She testified Rupp and Talley had been drinking beer and were “buzzed.”

They played a water pong game until almost 9 p.m. when Herrington left to take Harrison home, Clarissa Talley said.

At one point, Rupp started to talk about wanting to kill himself, she testified. He told his friends he had a gun in his dresser drawer, Clarissa Talley said.

Rupp and Donnie Talley wrestled off and on throughout the evening, she testified.

Donnie Talley picked up cups of water used in the game and tossed water and beer on Rupp, but it was all good natured, the witness said.

Rupp seemed to have grown tired of the horse play, so he went to the kitchen, she said, and Donnie Talley followed and threw a cup of water on him. Rupp got very mad, “completely different than three minutes before,” Clarissa Talley testified.

Talley’s testimony paused as she began to cry. Courtroom staff handed her a box of tissues.

She picked up the story again, saying the two men began wrestling. They went to the bedroom, and she followed to try to break it up.

Donnie Talley pinned Rupp on the floor, and Clarissa Talley wedged between them, she told the judge.

“(I said), ‘You guys are best friends. Just stop. Stop,” she testified.

Rupp told them to leave, but Donnie Talley kept asking Rupp why he was mad, she said.

About this time, Herrington returned, the witness said.

Donnie Talley insisted on talking to Rupp, who said “’f--- this’” and went to the dresser, she said.

“He picked up a single bullet and loaded it into the top chamber,” Clarissa Talley testified.

Rupp went into the bathroom, then walked back into the bedroom, she said. Then he pointed the gun at Donnie Talley and told him to get out, she said.

Donnie Talley told Rupp to put the gun away, his sister-in-law testified. Then he approached Rupp, and Rupp walked backward until they ran into a wall and fell to the floor.

Donnie Talley was over Rupp on the floor when Rupp shot Donnie Talley in the head, Clarissa Talley said in court.

Clarissa Talley said she called 911 and then went back to the bedroom to hold her brother-in-law’s hand until help arrived.

“For some reason, I thought he was going to be OK, that the EMTs would save him,” she said.

Several people in the courtroom audience sobbed as she told the story.

During cross examination by Rupp’s attorney Cheryl Ramsey, Clarissa Talley said Rupp’s phone was in Donnie Talley’s pocket that day. She didn’t know why.

Herrington was the second witness. She and Perry police Detective Ryan Rodgers talked about Rupp’s black eye. Rupp’s left eye is nearly swollen shut in his Noble County Jail mug shot.

A jail booking sheet Ramsey entered as evidence documents the black eye, as well as scrapes on Rupp’s arms, knees and back.

“Do you remember Rupp telling you he thought (Donnie) Talley would do serious bodily harm to him? Maybe I should say great bodily harm,” Ramsey asked the detective.

“Yes,” Rodgers said. “Can I add a little to that?”

“No, not at this time,” Ramsey said.

During Hermanson’s redirect, he pointed out Rupp was in police custody when he described feeling threatened by his friend.

“He knew he was in a lot of trouble at that point, didn’t he?” Hermanson said.

Rodgers testified he thought the injuries were consistent with rough housing.

A blood sample was taken from Rupp a few hours after police responded to the shooting. Rupp’s blood had an alcohol concentration of .12, Rodgers said.

The detective also testified police found marijuana plants in the basement of Rupp’s house. In a closet they found lights, fertilizer and books on cultivating marijuana, he said.

The district attorney entered as evidence the medical examiner’s report and a photo of Donnie Talley dead at Rupp’s house.

The defense didn’t call witnesses, which is typical at a preliminary hearing.

Judge Stout overruled Ramsey’s request to drop the charges. He scheduled Rupp to return to court May 4 for formal arraignment.

Tuesday evening, Ramsey told the NewsPress she thinks a jury trial is more likely than the prosecution and defense reaching a plea agreement.

The situation was unfortunate, she said, but testimony showed Rupp had a black eye and other injuries.

Hermanson declined to comment.