Stilwell Resident Pleads Guilty To Arson

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Aaron Welch Earley, age 41, of Stilwell, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to Arson in Indian Country.

On March 14, 2023, Earley intentionally and maliciously set fire to and burned down a family home in Westville, Oklahoma.  The total reported loss exceeded $100,000.

The crime occurred in Adair County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The charge arose from an investigation by the Adair County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The Honorable Jason. A Robertson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.  Earley was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Gross represented the United States.