Please E-mail suggested additions, comments and/or corrections to Kent@MoreLaw.Com.
Date: 04-29-2022
Case Style:
Case Number: 6:18-cr-00058-RAW
Judge:
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma (Muskogee County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office
Defendant's Attorney: Laura Udall and Lance Hopkins
Description: Muskogee, Oklahoma criminal defense lawyers represented Defendant charged with kidnapping and felony possession of a firearm in Indian Country.
Nicholas Earl Faulkner, 32, of Holdenville, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and being a felon in possession of a firearm in May 2019. According to his plea, in April 2017, Faulkner was living with co-defendant Matthew Armstrong, who was involved in smuggling contraband into various prisons and jails for the Indian Brotherhood (IBH), a prison-based Indian gang active in Oklahoma.
According to court documents, on April 16, 2017, at Armstrong’s residence, Armstrong had a dispute over drugs with the victim, who was also staying at the home. Armstrong and Faulkner took the victim into the woods behind the residence where Armstrong tied her to a tree. Faulkner brought Armstrong the binding materials, at Armstrong’s direction. Faulkner and Armstrong left the victim tied to the tree for several hours and then returned with a rifle. Armstrong shot the victim twice killing her. Faulkner then took the gun and left the area at the direction of Armstrong. Faulkner and Armstrong later purchased concrete mix, returned to the murder scene, untied the victim’s body, dug a shallow grave, placed the body in the grave, and covered it with concrete and soil.
Armstrong pleaded guilty in October 2021 to murder in Indian country, kidnapping and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson of the Eastern District of Oklahoma, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Edward Gray of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Rami Badawy and Brian Morgan of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zack Parsons of the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case.
18:1201(a)(1), 2, 1151, & 1153 - Kidnapping
(3)
18:922(g)(1) & 924(a)(2) - Felon in Possession of Firearm
(8)
Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 155 months in prison, followed by supervised release for a term of 5 years; Special Assessment in the amount of $100.00.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: