A federal jury found an Oklahoma man guilty of shooting his girlfriend when she tried to break up with him in 2021.
Jeffrey Sutton, 54, of Mounds, was found guilty of carrying, using, brandishing and firing a firearm, according to an Oct. 26 U.S. Department of Justice news release.
“More than four million American women have reported being threatened with a firearm in homes with domestic violence," U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson said in the release. "Access to firearms by a domestic abuser makes it five times more likely that an abuser will kill his partner. Thankfully, the victim in this case survived Jeffrey Sutton’s attack and testified against him at trial."
Sutton reportedly returned home and saw his girlfriend had moved her belongings onto the front lawn Dec. 2, 2021, the news release said. This led to an argument during which Sutton drew a 9mm handgun and fired at least eight times toward the victim.
"One of the shots stuck the victim in the chest near her armpit. She retreated into the house, and Sutton chased her, threatening to kill her and 'all her people in Bixby,'” the release said.
While inside the house, Sutton continued to make threats to shoot the victim and refused to dial 911, the news release said. After that, the victim ran outside to her neighbor's home. The neighbors let the victim inside, hid her in a closet and dialed 911 as Sutton pursued her once more while yelling, "I'm not trying to shoot you; I'm just trying to shoot her," prosecutors said.
Sutton was discovered in the front lawn by a Tulsa County Sheriff's Department deputy who arrived on the scene first, the news release said. The gun was still in Sutton's possession, but it was now empty. Sutton was arrested after he used an expletive and claimed the victim "was trying to kick me out of the house."
Johnson commended the work by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Briden and Kristin Harrington for working with other law enforcement partners to ensure a conviction, the release reported.
