Tahlequah Resident Pleads Guilty To Assault With Intent To Commit Murder In Indian Country

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Alejandro Dylan Rivera, a/k/a Dylan Deerinwater, a/k/a Dylan Deer-In-Water, a/k/a Alejandro Dylan Rivera-Deerinwater, age 18, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Assault with Intent to Commit Murder in Indian Country, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Indictment alleged that on July 10, 2026, Rivera assaulted the victim with intent to commit murder.

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

The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tahlequah Police Department, and the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service.

The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, 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.

A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Rivera will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Olivia Staubus and Kristin Knutson represented the United States.