Love County deputies arrest Leon woman on arson, firearm counts

Love County deputies arrested a Leon, Oklahoma, woman on arson and firearm counts after what the Sheriff's Office described as a violent incident at a home south of that town. Jail records show she was booked at 12:20 a.m. on Aug. 27 and was still listed in custody when the roster was checked. The Sheriff's Office lists Cooke County among the five counties on Love County's borders, along with Montague County in Texas.

In its public statement, the agency alleged that the woman pointed a firearm at a man and discharged a revolver, hit his truck with another vehicle, lit his front yard on fire and threatened to burn his trailer down.

Love County Jail records identify her as Sandra Lynn Rhodes, of Leon, and list four counts: third-degree arson, pointing firearm, malicious injury or destruction of property of $1,000 or more, and reckless conduct with a firearm. Her booking entry carried no release date and appeared in the sheriff's current in-custody feed, which showed 29 people held at the jail at the time.

The Sheriff's Office said charges from the incident would be presented to the District Attorney's Office for consideration, and the graphic posted with its announcement states that all suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Oklahoma's pattern jury instructions set out what a prosecutor would have to prove. Third-degree arson covers the willful and malicious burning of real or personal property worth $50 or more, a wider reach than the first- and second-degree statutes, which protect structures and buildings. Pointing a firearm requires willfully aiming a weapon at a person without lawful cause and for a threatening, malicious or angry purpose. Reckless conduct with a firearm turns on a loaded gun used in a way that creates an unreasonable risk and probability of death or great bodily harm, with conscious disregard for another person's safety. Malicious mischief rises to a felony at a loss of $1,000 or more.

The 2020 Census counted 74 residents in Leon. Love County held about 10,800 people in the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate, up 6.3 percent from its 2020 base and roughly a quarter of Cooke County's count, across a little more than 500 square miles. Sheriff Andy Cumberledge swore in for his first official term in January 2025, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Federal crime measures have been moving down. The FBI's preliminary release in May estimated violent crime fell about 9 percent from 2024 to 2025 and property crime about 12 percent, drawn from agencies covering most of the country's population and subject to revision. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has reported nonfatal firearm violence down 72 percent between 1993 and 2023. Neither report addresses the Leon case.