Leon woman charged with arson, pointing a firearm in Love County

A woman the Love County Sheriff's Office lists as living in Leon, Oklahoma, faces felony arson and firearm charges in the Oklahoma county that borders Cooke County. Sandra Lynn Rhodes was booked into the Love County Jail at 12:20 a.m. on Aug. 27, and court records show two cases were filed against her the next day.

The sheriff's booking record, entered under number 26-0613, lists five allegations: third-degree arson, pointing a firearm, malicious injury or destruction of property of $1,000 or more, reckless conduct with a firearm, and loitering in, injuring or molesting a motor vehicle.

Court records dated Aug. 28 list fewer charges than the sheriff's booking record. The felony case charges Rhodes with third-degree arson and feloniously pointing a firearm. A misdemeanor case filed the same day charges her with loitering, injuring or molesting an automobile.

Rhodes appeared by video for her initial appearance Aug. 28 and pleaded not guilty, the felony docket shows. The judge set bail at $50,000 and ordered her to have no contact with C.M. and M.R. The docket does not state their relationship to Rhodes or describe their role, if any, in the allegations. The misdemeanor carries $5,000 bail.

The felony case is set for a preliminary-hearing status conference at 2 p.m. on Sept. 16, according to the docket. The misdemeanor is set to track with it for a hearing the same day. Rhodes has until Sept. 9 to hire an attorney or apply for a court-appointed one.

The public file goes no further. It names the Love County Sheriff as the agency and records the plea, the bail, the court settings and the no-contact terms. It does not describe what led to the arrest, and it does not classify the case as a domestic matter.

The charged offenses come out of Oklahoma's Title 21 criminal code, which lists third-degree arson, reckless conduct and malicious injury to property as separate crimes. Texas law separately defines arson and deadly conduct, the second of which covers certain firearm-related conduct, though the Oklahoma record reviewed here does not describe the alleged conduct.

State officials have separately reported recent domestic-violence homicide trends in Oklahoma. The state's Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board counted 87 domestic-violence homicide victims in 2024, down 29 percent from the year before and the fewest since 2017, ending five straight years above 100. In March, the attorney general's office said four bills tightening domestic-violence law had cleared their chambers without a dissenting vote. Those figures describe the state, not this case.

Love County is home to roughly 10,800 people, about 6 percent more than in 2020 by Census Bureau estimate. Its justice center, finished in January 2020, has room for 100.

The charges are allegations. Rhodes has pleaded not guilty.

_Editor's note: Everyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law._