Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing a Victim for Money and Drugs

A Tulsa man pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court for assaulting and threatening to kill a victim, robbing him of hundreds of dollars, then carjacking his vehicle, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Merle Jason Lancaster Sr., 42, pleaded guilty to Robbery in Indian Country.

Lancaster Sr. admitted that on Feb. 3, 2021, he threatened to kill the victim and his family if he did not hand over money or drugs. Lancaster further assaulted the victim with a baseball bat in order to force the victim to comply with his demands. He then forced the victim into the victim’s vehicle. Lancaster and an accomplice drove the victim to a convenience store so the victim could withdraw several hundred dollars from an ATM machine. Video surveillance showed the victim and Lancaster entering the convenience store, the victim withdrawing money, and the victim handing over the cash to Lancaster as he stood over the victim. The three left the convenience store, and at some point, Lancaster and his accomplice forced the man out of the car and drove away.

U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell will sentence Lancaster at a hearing set for March 9, 2022. If Judge Frizzell accepts the plea agreement, the defendant will serve 90 months in federal prison.

The defendant is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and the crime occurred within the boundaries of the Muscogee Nation Reservation.

The Tulsa Police Department and FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin G. Bish is prosecuting the case.