OSBI: 19-year-old arrested in connection with Tuesday fatal shooting

Derrick James, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·2 min read
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Mar. 27—A man accused of fatally shooting another man at a McAlester apartment complex is expected to be charged Thursday in state court.

In a Wednesday press release from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the agency announced the arrest of 19-year-old Johnathon Riggins for the death of 35-year-old Tyrann Williams.

Records show Riggins was booked Tuesday into the Pittsburg County Jail on a first-degree murder complaint and was held without a bond.

OSBI said assistance from the agency was requested by the McAlester Police Department with further assistance given by Choctaw Nation Lighthorse.

"OSBI special agents immediately began their comprehensive investigation and tracked down 19-year-old Johnathon Riggins, who was arrested on a First-Degree Murder charge," the agency said in the press release.

McAlester Police Lt. Det. Kirk Johnston said officers from the McAlester Police Department responded to a call at the Park Place Apartments around 6:19 a.m. Tuesday morning.

According to audio obtained through Broadcastify, officers were dispatched to the apartment complex after a caller reported hearing gunshots and saw a person laying at the bottom of a staircase.

Johnston said officers arrived on scene and found Williams. The audio recording shows officers immediately requested medics to continue to the scene. Williams was later declared deceased at the scene by responding medics.

The agency said Williams was transported to the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner, who will determine a cause and manner of death.

"This is still an ongoing investigation at this time," OSBI said.

District 18 District Attorney Chuck Sullivan said Wednesday his office was waiting for the preliminary report to be finished by investigators before any charges would be filed against Riggins and said he expects charges to be filed Thursday.

Randy Sachs, a spokesperson for the Choctaw Nation, said Lighthorse is a part of the investigation due to the victim being Native American.

If Williams' tribal status is confirmed, Riggins could also be indicted federally in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. A June 2022 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court allows the state of Oklahoma to prosecute non-Native Americans for crimes committed on tribal land when the victim is Native American following the 2020 landmark ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma. The ruling means Riggins could be prosecuted by the state and federally at the same time.

Federal records show a federal complaint was not filed as of Wednesday afternoon.