On January 4, 2019, 37 year old Tyrone Lee, of Tulsa, pleaded guilty to robbery of the Forest Acres liquor store on February 22, 2018. During the robbery, Lee, who threatened the store employees with a loaded sawed off shotgun, was shot by the two store employees.
Lee pled guilty to all four counts of the Indictment which included the use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, possession of an unregistered firearm and felon in possession of a firearm. There was no plea agreement in the case.
U.S. Chief District Judge Gregory Frizzell set sentencing in the matter for April 4, 2019. Lee faces up to life imprisonment, fines up to $1,000,000 and up to 14 years supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Trent Shores stated: “The Justice Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative was designed to hold accountable violent “alpha criminals” like Tyrone Lee. Today, he stood before a federal judge and admitted to violently robbing a local store with a sawed off shotgun. The actions of the two store clerks were courageous as they fought for their lives against an aggressive and violent shotgun-toting robber. I am thankful neither clerk suffered more serious physical injury. When sentencing occurs, the United States will ask the court for a lengthy sentence that reflects the seriousness of these crimes and the violent nature of this defendant.
This is the result of a joint investigation with the Tulsa Police Department, FBI and ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fries prosecuted the case.
Project Safe Neighborhoods is the nationwide federal initiative to disrupt gun violence strategically and comprehensively, using all available enforcement and prosecutive tools.
The initiative involves a partnership of federal, state, and local authorities, uniting their efforts and leveraging existing and new resources. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its partners tailor their efforts to meet their own district’s unique needs, helping ensure the safety of communities in the Northern District of Oklahoma.
