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Date: 04-20-2023
Case Style:
Case Number: 6:21-cr-00175
Judge: John F. Heil, III
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma (Muskogee County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in Muskogee
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Muskogee, Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with murder in Indian Country; using, caring, brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; and causing the death of a person during the course of a violation of title 18 U.S.C. 924(e).
in April of 2019, Coker Dean Barker, age 36, brutally attacked and killed a 43-year-old Seminole man. During the fatal attack, Barker stabbed and beat the victim, and fired multiple rounds into his body. Autopsy results revealed the victim sustained 18 broken ribs, two punctured lungs, and bullet wounds from multiple firearms. After killing the victim, Barker burned the evidence to evade prosecution, and attempted to flee to Mexico. U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended Barker before he crossed the border and returned him to Oklahoma for prosecution. After his indictment in 2021, the defendant escaped from jail, but was captured by U.S. Marshals and returned to custody.
The guilty verdicts were the result of investigations by the Seminole Police Department, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Texas Rangers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 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 crimes occurred in Seminole County, within the boundaries of the Seminole 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 in Muskogee, presided over the trial and ordered the completion of a presentence report. The sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report. The defendant will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshals until sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin Gross and Zachary Parsons represented the United States.
18:1111(a), 1151, 1153 & 2 - Murder in Indian Country
(1)
18:924(c)(1)(A)(i), (ii) & (iii) & 2 - Use, Carry, Brandish and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence
(2)
18:924(j)(1) & 2 - Causing the Death of a Person in the Course of a Violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
(3)
Outcome: Defendant was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of First-Degree Murder in Indian Country, one count of Use, Carry, Brandish, and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, and one count of Causing Death with a Firearm.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: