A federal jury has convicted Michael Wayne Lambert, 56, of Weleetka, Oklahoma, on charges related to a 2024 murder in Okfuskee County. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced the verdict.
Lambert was found guilty on three counts: Murder in Indian Country, Use, Carry, Brandish and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, and Causing the Death of a Person in the Course of a Violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). The murder charge carries a potential life sentence and up to a $250,000 fine. The firearm charge is punishable by up to ten years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The third count also carries up to life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
The trial began on September 8, 2025, with testimony presented over several days before concluding with guilty verdicts on September 11.
According to evidence presented at trial, Lambert killed the victim with premeditation and malice aforethought on June 30, 2024. Prosecutors showed that Lambert shot the victim multiple times on the stairs of an apartment complex in Okemah before fleeing. The incident took place within Okfuskee County on the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation.
The investigation involved cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Okemah Police Department, and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
Chief U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White presided over the case in Muskogee. He ordered preparation of a presentence report ahead of sentencing. Lambert remains in custody pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lewis M. Reagan and Ryan Conway prosecuted the case for the government.
