Thomas Sentenced 22 Years

Kenneth Leon Thomas, Jr., age 35, of Okemah, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to 270 months in prison for Second Degree Murder in Indian Country. The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The incident occurred on May 31, 2022, at the Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville, now known as the Allen Gamble Correctional Center. Thomas had an altercation with a fellow inmate and stabbed him three times, resulting in the inmate’s death. The crime took place in Hughes County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

At the time of the murder, Thomas was serving an 8-year sentence on a state court conviction out of Comanche County for Assault and Battery on a Police Officer. On April 19, 2023, Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of an Information of Murder in Indian Country—Second Degree.

The Honorable Keith Starrett, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, presided over the hearing in Muskogee. Thomas will remain in 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 Attorney Jordan Howanitz represented the United States in the case. The sentencing of Thomas serves as a reminder of the severe consequences of violent crime, particularly in Indian Country where federal authorities have jurisdiction.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced the sentencing, highlighting the collaborative efforts of federal and local law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting crimes in Indian Country. The case underscores the commitment of federal authorities to ensuring justice is served for victims of violent crime, regardless of where the crime occurs.