Anthony Juan Armenta, Assault, Oklahoma 2023

Two McCurtain County Residents Sentenced for Assault and Firearms Offenses

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – A federal court in Muskogee, Oklahoma, has sentenced Anthony Juan Armenta, 34, and Kevin Ray Ward, 39, to prison for assault and firearms offenses.

On December 1, 2023, Armenta was sentenced to 240 months in prison for one count of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country, two counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country, and one count of Use, Carry, Brandish, and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.

Armenta was found guilty on all counts of the Indictment after a federal jury trial concluded on August 19, 2022. The trial presented evidence that on May 24, 2020, Armenta and Ward confronted three individuals returning from fishing on the Mountain Fork River. During the confrontation, Armenta and Ward beat one of the victims with a tire iron, and shot at all three of the victims, hitting one twice in the abdomen.

The crimes occurred in McCurtain County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The Honorable Patrick R. Wyrick, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, sitting by assignment, presided over the sentencing hearings in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Armenta is in the custody of the United States Bureau of Prisons serving a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration. Ward will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin D. Traster and Nicole Paladino represented the United States. The case arose from investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office.

The victims suffered serious injuries during the confrontation, and the incident highlighted the need for stricter laws and enforcement in Indian Country.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edok/pr/mccurtain-county-residents-sentenced-assault-and-firearms-offenses-mountain-fork-river