A former Tulsa police officer with 24 years of experience was sentenced to 25 years in prison after shooting a 19-year-old man who was dating his daughter.
According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Oklahoma, Shannon Kepler, 61, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for the murder of Jeremey Lake on Aug. 5, 2014. Kepler was sentenced for using a firearm in the commission of second-degree murder. He was also charged with a separate assault charge for firing at witnesses, including Lake’s brother and his own daughter. Kepler was convicted in April 2021 by a federal jury and sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell.
“Nineteen-year-old Jeremey Lake died almost immediately after Shannon Kepler gunned him down in the street in 2014,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Kepler, at the time, was sworn to uphold the law but instead made a series of decisions that led to the young man’s murder."
A week before Lake’s murder, Kepler dropped his 18-year-old daughter off at a homeless shelter with no extra clothing, money or cell phone. He then logged into his daughter’s Facebook while at work and saw that she had changed her status to being “in a relationship” with Lake.
After discovering this, Kepler used police databases to find information about Lake and printed off police reports about the victim. He changed into dark clothing and used his wife’s SUV to travel after dark to Lake’s last known address. He brought a .357 magnum with him in the waistband of his pants. In court Kepler testified that he knew the revolver would not leave shell casings.
Kepler found Lake and his daughter, Lisa, at about 9 p.m. Kepler approached Lake and then shot him twice while he was on North Maybelle Avenue, near downtown Tulsa. Lake was shot twice through the chest. Kepler then turned and fired multiple shots in the direction of the witnesses including Lake’s 13-year-old brother, Kepler’s daughter and a friend of Lake’s.
Court records show that Kepler fled the scene and he testified that he knew the Tulsa police would be hunting him down, along with the vehicle and weapon. He abandoned the SUV at a former Motel 6 and eventually turned himself in. About 14 hours after the shooting his attorney brought the still-loaded murder weapon into the Tulsa Police Station.
Kepler claimed that he shot Lake in self-defense after Lake “got the jump on him,” and brandished a semi-automatic pistol. Evidence proved that a gun found by Tulsa Police several days later was unrelated. The prosecution proved that Kepler heard about the unrelated gun and was also given police reports and photographs before testifying.
Per the family’s request Kepler also has to pay restitution to pay for Lake’s headstone.
