U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson | U.S. Department of Justice
Andrew Allen Maher, 33, and Azalee Louellen Maher, 28, both residents of Muskogee, Oklahoma, have been sentenced to five years of supervised release for child neglect in Indian country. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Muskogee Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On April 15, 2024, both Andrew and Azalee Maher pleaded guilty to one count of child neglect in Indian Country. The incident occurred on August 18, 2023, when Muskogee officers responded to a report of an accidental firearm discharge at a residence in Muskogee. They found a two-year-old child with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the lower abdomen. Emergency medical services resuscitated and stabilized the child before transporting them for life-saving surgery.
As part of their plea agreement, both defendants admitted they failed to provide adequate supervision to the child under their care, which allowed the child access to a firearm.
The crime took place in Muskogee County within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The hearings were presided over by U.S. Chief District Judge Ronald A. White at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessie Pippin represented the United States in this case.
