Wesley Wayne Sutton, a 60-year-old resident of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for arson. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced the sentencing following an investigation by the Tahlequah Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Sutton pleaded guilty to one count of arson on October 23, 2024. Investigators reported that on July 1, 2024, Sutton approached a residence in Tahlequah, broke one window and attempted to break another before using gasoline to set fire to the front door. He then entered the building and assaulted a resident. The incident took place in Cherokee County within the Cherokee Nation Reservation's boundaries.
The hearing was presided over by Chief U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Sutton will remain in custody under the U.S. Marshals Service until he is transported to a designated facility by the United States Bureau of Prisons to serve his non-paroleable sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Gross represented the prosecution.
