Okemah Resident Sentenced For Assault, Firearm, And Drug Related Offenses In Indian Country And Escape From Federal Custody

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that Dustin Kyle Marris, age 34, of Okemah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 282 months’ imprisonment after being found guilty by a federal jury on November 3, 2021, of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country; Use, Carry, Brandish and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence; Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine; and Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Marris was sentenced to an additional 12 months’ imprisonment for Escape from Custody.

The trial evidence showed that on or about November 9, 2020, a deputy with the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the defendant for speeding. The defendant failed to comply and accelerated to speeds over 100 miles per hour. Shortly after the pursuit began, the defendant leaned out the driver’s side door, pointed a handgun at the deputy and fired 3-4 shots. The defendant, a convicted felon, was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Within a few minutes, the defendant crashed his car into a ditch and fled on foot. Law enforcement pursued the defendant but was unable to locate him. The following day, officers located and arrested the defendant. During a search of the defendant, officers found four baggies of methamphetamine weighing 49.38 grams.

On November 13, 2021, only ten days after being convicted of the November 2020 offenses, the defendant and another inmate escaped from federal custody at the Okmulgee County Detention Center in Okmulgee.  They were apprehended the following day.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the November 2020 offenses because the defendant in this case is a member of a federally-recognized Indian tribe and the crimes occurred in Okmulgee County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation, and within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The case was the result of an investigation by the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“The lengthy sentence imposed by the Court is fitting punishment,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “Methamphetamine and firearms are a dangerous combination. Thankfully, the Okmulgee County Deputy was not injured or killed during the attempted stop and pursuit. Marris has been a violent criminal the majority of his adult life and obviously has no respect for the law or law enforcement. Protecting the public and our law enforcement partners from dangerous offenders will continue to be a priority for the United States Attorney’s Office.”

“The FBI focuses its investigative resources on offenders who pose the greatest safety risk to the public, especially those like Marris who show a blatant disregard for the law and for human life,” said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray. “Thanks to our combined efforts with the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, another violent criminal has been removed from our community.”

The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the sentencing hearing. Marris was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal to await commitment to a United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve his non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Nathaniel Walters, Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Gross, and Department of Justice Criminal Division Organized Crime and Gang Section Trial Attorney Brian Lynch represented the United States.