Idabel Resident Sentenced For Involuntary Manslaughter

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Justin Lee Williston, age 33, of Idabel, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for one count of Involuntary Manslaughter in Indian Country.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On January 4, 2024, Williston pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on July 1, 2022, Williston was driving a pickup truck eastbound on State Highway 3 with a suspended driver's license. Williston crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic and struck an oncoming vehicle which rolled on impact, killing the passenger. Law enforcement investigating the crash discovered open beer cans in Williston's vehicle and Williston admitted drinking approximately "eight or nine beers" before the collision. Investigators obtained blood samples which tested positive for marijuana and a blood alcohol content of .19 g/100ml. The crime occurred in McCurtain County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The Honorable Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for Puerto Rico, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Williston 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 U.S. Attorney Patrick Flanigan represented the United States.