Murray County Resident Sentenced For Assault With A Dangerous Weapon And Eluding A Peace Officer

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Jayson Geoffrey Evans, age 51, of Sulphur, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for one count of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country and 46 months in prison for one count of Eluding Peace Officer in Indian Country. The Court ordered the sentences to be served concurrently.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Oklahoma City Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Murray County Sheriff's Office, the National Parks Service, and the Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police Department.

On May 7, 2025, Evans pleaded guilty to the charges. According to investigators, on December 30, 2023, Evans fled from a Trooper during a roadside traffic stop, leading law enforcement on a chase at speeds reaching 90 mph. During the pursuit, Evans threw road-spikes-known as caltrops-into the path of the pursuing law enforcement, causing damage to a law enforcement vehicle and two civilian vehicles. Evans was taken into custody but failed to appear to face charges, eluding law enforcement for over a year until his campsite was discovered in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area in April of 2025. The crimes occurred in Murray County, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

"Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect the American people. Harming, or attempting to harm them for doing their job is completely unacceptable," said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater. "For nearly two years, this dangerous fugitive went to extreme lengths to evade justice, but he was not successful. I appreciate the efforts of the FBI Oklahoma City JTTF, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Murray County Sheriff's Office, the Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police Department, the National Parks Service, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, who brought this case to a resolution."

"Evans' brazen and reckless acts endangered law enforcement and the public," said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. "I commend the collaborative work of troopers, rangers, deputies, officers, agents, and prosecutors for their tireless efforts in locating and bringing the defendant to justice."

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Evans will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lewis M. Reagan and Jarrod Leaman represented the United States.