Tulsa man Redex Lester Jr. has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for causing a DUI collision that resulted in the death of one man and serious injuries to another.
On May 25, 2020, Lester Jr. drove intoxicated and exceeded the speed limit, striking a vehicle head-on and killing Wayne Thomas, a passenger in the other vehicle. Another man suffered extensive, serious bodily injuries in the crash.
Lester Jr.’s blood alcohol level at the time of the collision was .239, and he was driving on a suspended license. This was not his first run-in with the law – he had previously been convicted of DUI four times, including in 1992, 1994, 2005, and February 2020.
Despite being sentenced to six months in February 2020, his sentence was suspended. Less than four months later, Lester Jr. was involved in the fatal DUI collision.
U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson said that Lester Jr. ‘acted without regard for human life’ when he drove intoxicated. He will now spend the next 15 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III handed down the sentence, urging Lester Jr. to take part in treatment programs while imprisoned and to use his experience as a warning to others not to make the same mistakes.
The FBI and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chantelle D. Dial and Christopher J. Nassar are prosecuting the case.
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Key Facts
- State: Oklahoma
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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