Ottawa County shooting victim intoxicated during fatal altercation

MIAMI, Okla. — An autopsy report shows an Ottawa County man fatally shot during an argument tested positive for drugs and alcohol.

Matthew Vincent Locastro, 27, of Miami, died on Jan. 5 from a gunshot wound to his head.  The manner of death is listed as a homicide, according to the nine-page autopsy report released June 13.

Travis Christian Wilbur, 34, is charged in Ottawa County District Court with first-degree murder in Locastro’s death.   Online court records show that he remains in the Ottawa County jail and is being held without bond.

Locastro’s toxicology report shows he tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine and his blood alcohol level registered at .18, which is over twice the legal limit in Oklahoma.

Court records show Locastro was shot in the left eye and the autopsy report spells out the path of the fatal bullet.

A gunshot wound was visible to the left temple with the “projectile” passing through “the skin, soft tissue, skull and brain” exiting the right occipital and “rupturing the globe of the left eye,” before exiting the body, the autopsy report states.

There are lacerations and contusions to the area, the autopsy states.

Wilbur confessed to police he shot Locastro in self-defense.

Before the shooting, Wilbur said Locastro hit him with a gun, or his fist and their fight continued outside the garage. Wilbur claims the fight ended up in the alley where Wilbur’s truck was parked and as the two men were wrestling over a gun, the weapon discharged, according to an arrest affidavit.

Wilbur has claimed he is immune from prosecution under Oklahoma’s Castle Doctrine. The statute, 21-1289.25, reads in part:

B. Any occupant of a dwelling is justified in using any degree of physical force, including but not limited to deadly force, against another person who has made an unlawful entry into that dwelling, and when the occupant has a reasonable belief that such other person might use any physical force, no matter how slight, against any occupant of the dwelling.

In Wilbur’s case, his attorney argues it was Locastro who entered Wilbur’s friend’s garage and assaulted Wilbur, with an object that turned out to be a gun. His attorney filed a Motion for Immunity from Prosecution on June 6, 2024, and has requested a hearing on the matter.

Section C. of Oklahoma’s Castle Doctrine states, “Any occupant of a dwelling using physical force, including but not limited to deadly force, pursuant to the provisions of subsection B of this section, shall have an affirmative defense in any criminal prosecution for an offense arising from the reasonable use of such force and shall be immune from any civil liability for injuries or death resulting from the reasonable use of such force.”

Wilbur is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on July 18, but his attorney has requested a separate hearing on his Motion for Immunity because he believes the case should be dismissed prior to any preliminary hearing occurs.

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