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Press Release

Individual Sentenced on Kidnapping and Weapons Charges Connected to Murder in Indian Country

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

A member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma was sentenced today to more than 12 years in prison for his conduct in connection with a homicide that took place in 2017 within Indian Country in Oklahoma. The defendant was sentenced to 155 months for kidnapping and 120 months for being a felon in possession of a firearm, to run concurrently, followed by five years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, Nicholas Earl Faulkner, 32, of Holdenville, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and being a felon in possession of a firearm in May 2019. According to his plea, in April 2017, Faulkner was living with co-defendant Matthew Armstrong, who was involved in smuggling contraband into various prisons and jails for the Indian Brotherhood (IBH), a prison-based Indian gang active in Oklahoma.

According to court documents, on April 16, 2017, at Armstrong’s residence, Armstrong had a dispute over drugs with the victim, who was also staying at the home. Armstrong and Faulkner took the victim into the woods behind the residence where Armstrong tied her to a tree. Faulkner brought Armstrong the binding materials, at Armstrong’s direction. Faulkner and Armstrong left the victim tied to the tree for several hours and then returned with a rifle. Armstrong shot the victim twice killing her. Faulkner then took the gun and left the area at the direction of Armstrong.

Armstrong pleaded guilty in October 2021 to murder in Indian country, kidnapping and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson of the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and Special Agent in Charge Edward Gray of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Rami Badawy and Brian Morgan of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zach Parsons of the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case.

Updated April 21, 2022

Topics
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Violent Crime
Press Release Number: 22-409