Cherokee County Resident Pleads Guilty To Federal Firearm Crime

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Austin Cole Yanez, age 23, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma entered a guilty plea to one count of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, punishable by a minimum of five years in prison.

The indictment alleged that on or about June 21, 2022, Yanez possessed a semi-automatic pistol for the purposes of protecting the fentanyl he intended to distribute.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Tahlequah Police Department, and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.  Yanez will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorney Zachary W. Parsons represented the United States.