MUSKOGEE –Michael David Patton, 31, of Holdenville, was sentenced last week to 210 months in prison for one count of Second Degree Murder in Indian Country, according to The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

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

On Feb. 22, 2023, Patton pleaded guilty to Murder in Indian Country—Second Degree. According to investigators, on Oct. 19, 2022, Patton entered a Wewoka residence by force, and stabbed the sleeping victim over ten times.

EMS responders transported the victim to an area hospital where he later died of his injuries.

The crime occurred in Seminole County, within the boundaries of the Seminole Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

“The diligence and fairness of the legal process has guaranteed Michael Patton will be held accountable for this senseless act of violence,” said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray. “I hope this well-deserved prison sentence will bring some measure of closure to the victim’s family. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will never stop working to ensure those who cause harm in our communities are brought to justice.”

“I commend the coordinated investigative efforts of local, tribal, and federal law enforcement in this case,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “Due to their efforts, federal prosecutors were able to pursue criminal charges against Michael Patton and he now faces the just consequences of his heinous act.”

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearings. Patton 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.