Federal Jury Convicts Tulsa Resident Of Involuntary Manslaughter In Indian Country

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that that Danny Gene Kirby, age 65, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of Involuntary Manslaughter in Indian Country.

The jury trial began with testimony on June 26, 2023, and concluded on June 28, 2023, with the guilty verdict.

During the trial, the United States presented evidence that the defendant caused the death of his passenger while driving a motorcycle under the combined influence of drugs and alcohol.

On July 23, 2022, in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, Kirby and a passenger left a bar on Kirby’s motorcycle.  A short distance from the bar, Kirby left the roadway while making a turn.  He lost control of the motorcycle attempting to re-enter the roadway, throwing his passenger from the bike.  Emergency responders life-flighted the victim to a Tulsa hospital, where the victim was pronounced dead the following morning.  At the time of the crash, Kirby was under the combined influence of alcohol, marijuana, tramadol, trazodone, amphetamines, citalopram, and oxycodone, and was unable to complete field sobriety tests administered by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper.

The guilty verdict was the result of investigations by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case because the defendant is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe and the crime occurred in Indian Country, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation of Oklahoma and the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the trial in Muskogee and ordered the completion of a presentence report.  The sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report.  The defendant was allowed to remain on bond pending sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Howanitz and Joshua Satter represented the United States.