A Seminole County man has pleaded guilty to murder in relation to a stabbing death that occurred last October.

According to a press release from The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, 30-yearold Michael David Patton of Wewoka entered a guilty plea to an Information charging him with Murder in Indian Country – Second Degree. The crime is punishable by up to life imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000.00, or both.

The Information alleged that on or about Oct. 19, 2022, Patton “with malice aforethought, did unlawfully kill the victim.” During the plea hearing, Patton admitted he entered a residence in Wewoka by force and stabbed the victim over ten times while the victim was sleeping.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case because Patton is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe and the crime occurred in Seminole County, which is within the boundaries of the Seminole Nation Reservation and within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Seminole Lighthorse Police Department, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. The defendant was remanded into the custody of the United States Marshal pending imposition of sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorney Casey Richmond represented the United States.