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Police had to intervene with an altercation outside the Washington County Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon following a morning session of a preliminary murder hearing.

20-year-old Bryson Towers, who is facing first-degree-murder in the Nov. 13, 2023 shooting death of Markus Scott, had his preliminary trial begin Tuesday morning.

While in recess, family and friends in support of the victim, and in support of Towers caused a disruption outside of the courthouse that led to a law enforcement presence being needed. As a result, Judge Jared Sigler closed off court from the public and family for the rest of the preliminary hearing during the afternoon.

Three witnesses were questioned, including Chris Neal, Steve Johnson, and Miles Lewis, all of the Bartlesville Police Department. Neal and Johnson testified that there was a 9mm shell casing found underneath a floor mat in the vehicle.

Johnson also testified that multiple documents in the ditched vehicle had Towers name on it, including his wallet and mail. Lewis testified that he took a gunshot residue kit sample on the passenger side of the vehicle, but no residue was found.

Lewis said residue can disappear within 4-6 hours and that it can easily be cleaned. The defense argued that it could have been a gun Scott was in possession of that was shot, instead of Towers’ gun. Lewis responded by saying that Scott’s gun was sent to Tulsa for testing, but the results were inconclusive on whether it could have shot the 9mm shell casing.

Towers’ preliminary hearing will resume on March 26^th at 9 a.m., and it will be re-opened to the public.