Steven DeWayne Beard has been sentenced to life in prison for First Degree Murder in Indian Country, with an additional consecutive 120-month sentence for Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence. Beard, 51, from Stilwell, Oklahoma, was convicted by a federal jury on September 14, 2024, following an incident that took place on March 29, 2023, in Cherokee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation.
According to investigators, Beard, involved in a romantic rivalry, instructed a woman to remove her belongings from his home while he was absent. Anticipating the arrival of the woman and her companion, who was the victim, Beard concealed his vehicle and awaited their arrival inside his residence. He subsequently shot the victim twice in the chest, resulting in fatal injuries.
The investigation was conducted by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was presided over by Chief Judge Ronald A. White in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Beard is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and will be transported to a designated facility of the United States Bureau of Prisons to serve his sentence, which does not allow for parole.
The prosecution of the case was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Gross and T. Cameron McEwen on behalf of the United States.
