Cherokee County Residents Plead Guilty To Federal Charges Stemming From September 2022 Tahlequah Murder

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Jermyn Damon Vann, Jr., 21, and Jermyn Damon Vann, Sr., 41, of Welling, Oklahoma, entered guilty pleas in federal district court on Wednesday.

Vann, Jr., pleaded guilty to two counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to Do Bodily Harm in Indian Country, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and to one count of Causing the Death of a Person in the Course of a Violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c), punishable by any term of years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Vann, Sr., pleaded guilty to one count of Child Neglect in Indian Country, punishable by any term of years to life in prison, and a $5,000 fine.

The Indictment alleged that on September 5, 2022, Vann, Jr. assaulted two individuals with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm. The Indictment further alleged that on September 5, 2022, Vann, Jr. knowingly discharged a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence for which they may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, that is, Murder in Indian Country and Murder in Perpetration of Burglary in Indian Country, and that in the course of this violation, Vann, Jr., caused the death of a person through the use of said firearm, which killing is a murder, in that Vann, Jr. murdered and unlawfully killed the victim with a firearm.

The Indictment also alleged that on September 5, 2022, Vann, Sr., willfully and maliciously failed and omitted to protect a child under the age of eighteen from exposure to illegal activity, all while responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of that child.

The crimes occurred in Cherokee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Tahlequah Police Department.

The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.

A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Both defendants will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys T. Cameron McEwen, Olivia Staubus, and Gregory Dean Burris represented the United States.