Federal Jury Convicts Cherokee County Resident Of First Degree Murder

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Steven Dewayne Beard, age 51, of Stilwell, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of First Degree Murder in Indian Country and two federal firearms offenses.

The jury trial began with testimony on Monday, September 9, 2024, and concluded, on Friday, September 14, 2024, with the guilty verdicts.

During the trial, the United States presented evidence that Beard intentionally shot and killed the victim with malice aforethought.  According to investigators, Beard and the victim were romantic rivals for the same woman.  On March 29, 2023, Beard became angry and ordered the woman to remove her property from his residence while he was away.  Knowing that the victim was the woman’s only ride and would accompany her to remove her items, Beard hid his vehicle, and waited inside for the two to return.  When the woman and victim arrived, Beard shot the victim in the chest.  The victim fell to the ground where Beard shot the victim in the chest again at pointblank range.  The crime occurred in Cherokee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The guilty verdicts were the results of investigations by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the Cherokee Nation Marshal’s Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the trial and ordered the completion of a presentence report.  The sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report.  Beard will remain in custody of the United States Marshal until sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin Gross and T. Cameron McEwen represented the United States.