Thomas Raymond Phillips, III, a resident of Fort Towson, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to life in prison for First Degree Murder in Indian Country. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Phillips, aged 36, was also given an additional sentence of 120 months for Use, Carry, Brandish, and Discharge of a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence. Both sentences will be served consecutively.
The case stemmed from an investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies including the Choctaw County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Phillips was found guilty by a federal jury on October 25, 2023. According to investigators' reports from December 19, 2020, Phillips fired several shots into a bar in Fort Towson after being ejected for starting a fight. One bullet struck and killed a patron instantly. The incident took place in Choctaw County within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation.
“The defendant’s malicious and senseless acts stole a life," stated United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. "The defendant will spend his remaining days in prison paying the price justice demands for his crimes." Wilson commended local and federal law enforcement along with prosecuting attorneys for their roles in investigating and presenting the case.
U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III presided over the hearing at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Phillips will remain under U.S. Marshals Service custody until he is transported to a designated Bureau of Prisons facility where he will serve his non-paroleable sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dean Burris and T. Cameron McEwen represented the government during this case.