Stilwell Resident Sentenced For Federal Drug Crime

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Miranda Morgan Pauley, age 32, of Stilwell, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 188 months in prison for one count of Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Adair County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Drug Task Force 27, the United States Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

On October 12, 2023, Pauley pleaded guilty to possessing over 50 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.   According to investigators, on January 11, 2023, law enforcement officers learned that John Tillison, an individual with active arrest warrants, was located at Pauley’s residence.  Law enforcement attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Tillison as it left the residence, but Tillison fled.  Law enforcement pursued, ending the chase by deploying tire deflation devices.  Tillison ran from the scene but was later captured, and Pauley, Tillison’s passenger, was taken into custody.  A search of the vehicle located a loaded revolver between the driver’s seat and console, along with nearly $18,000 in United States Currency and approximately 890 grams of methamphetamine.  Law enforcement officers subsequently executed a search warrant on Pauley’s residence where they discovered another 992 grams of methamphetamine and various rounds of ammunition.

The Honorable Kenneth J. Gonzales, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing in Muskogee, Oklahoma.  Pauley will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan E. Soverly represented the United States.