Tremane and Jake Wood

Oklahoma city’s Brick Town. It’s a popular area. It attracts tourists and the locals as though it was honey for a bear. And it can be a honey trap for some. Travelers and college students are so easily fooled when they are young.

Let me set the scene. You can go into a bar at 18 but you can’t drink. You can’t rent a hotel room until you are 21 in Oklahoma, and you must be 21 to have your first legal drink in a bar. But if you are in a brewery eating establishment and your buddy is buying the beer and your waitress is pretending not to notice, that’s another story, isn’t it, friends?

Once upon a time there were two you men, these you men were just traveling through Oklahoma City and decided to go to a Brewery Restaurant in Brick Town. Brick town is very geared toward the college scene.

Ronnie Wipf and Arnold Kleinsasser were celebrating New Years Eve December 31st , 2001 and found themselves at the Bricktown Brewery. This was and is still a very popular spot in Oklahoma City.

Around closing time, the two young men struck up a conversation with a couple of ladies they’re at the bar. The ladies were quite good looking and took and immediate interest in these two young men.

These two ladies, by the names of Brandy and Lanita, along with the two young men decided to go to a motel. Since the young men didn’t know the city, they let Brady drive and the women picked the motel. Now, folks, I don’t know about you, but I’m just not that trusting. I’m not letting some stranger drive my car.

My trust has its limits, and my hair is already raised on end by the way the women picked the motel. These two gentlemen were from out of town. They are so young, and they are naive to the ways of some kinds of women.

Brandy had to rent the room, Arnold, poorly educated, Arnold didn’t know this woman’s target yet. She rented the room under the pretense she was going to give the boy a good time, well, she gave them time alright. I am not just a little angry, folks.

Once they arrived at the room, Lanita made a phone call. She ended the phone call with, “I love you, Mom.” That was her signal to the waiting Tremane Brothers their Targets were in place. The “muscle” of this operation was about to join this New Year’s Eve party, and not in a good way.

Their group sat around talking. The usual getting to know each other. When one of them asked the girls what they did, one of them responded. “This is what I do.” This is why I am suspicious of others. I know people who had been hit with this trick and nearly had the same fate. It’s no joke. Men are usually the main targets, but women are getting targeted more these days too. Anyway, these two “ladies” brought up what they wanted.

This was when the price of sex for money came up. Instead of being smart and turning down such a business proposition, the boys decided to go for this proposition. So, Arnold had Brandy drive him to the atm across the street at the 7-eleven. Folks, don’t jump ahead, we all know what’s going to happen to these boys, it was in the paper and a matter of public record. But why did it have to happen at all?

Suddenly, when they returned from the atm, they women needed to fix their hair. Now, I just paid for a service, I’d be a little bit pissed. After all, the hair is going to get mussed during whatever they are going to do, which they haven’t done yet. This is all going when there was a knock on the door followed by, “Brandy, are you in there?”

After a few minutes, Arnold went to the door and told the women to leave. Lanita went to the phone and pretended to call the police. God only knows why she did something so weird as that in the middle of this chaos. But she did.

With the door open, the two women ran out, and two masked men had run in. Both were wearing gloves, one larger than the other and both were armed

The larger one pointed a gun at Arnold and asked for the money. While this was going, Ronnie and the smaller man were struggling by the bathroom. Arnold handed over the money, he was frightened out of his mind.

The larger one of the two went to help the smaller of the two. Ronnie was screaming and one of the men was heard Arnold to say, “Just shoot the bastard.” Folks, Arnold, was scared completely out of his mind. They were murdering his friend right before his eyes.

Arnold managed to escape. He ran to the office of the motel. There he told them someone was in their room. They were being robbed with a gun. Then he ran out of the office and hid behind a fence not far away watching the motel. He saw a four-door white car leave the parking lot.

Arnold then when and hid in a dumpster nearby until six that morning. He returned to the motel where he was met by a detective. The detective had the unfortunate duty to inform him that Ronnie was dead.

This case takes a few twists, something of a wicked nature. The women were identified by the remaining witness. The evidence to connect them to the crime is strong, but to connect who did what, now that was harder to prove.

The Wood brothers were located and charged with this crime. ZJaition and Tremane, were both charged with murder of the first and armed robbery of the two young men. Mrs. Wood, the mother of the brothers, testified in court on Tremane’s behalf, as did his brother, claiming he was the one who was the murderer.

Zjaition Wood received life in prison for his part in the Robbery murder. Zjaiton died in prison. Tremane, however received the death penalty, for his original sentence. He would fight a long hard road before he received clemency in 2025 from Governor Kevin Stitt. He was granted life in prison without the possibility of parole.