Tahlequah Resident Sentenced For Federal Firearm Crime

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Billy Lee Murphy, age 76, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to a five year term of probation for one count of Possession of a Firearm with the Serial Number Removed.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

On October 12, 2023, Murphy pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on January 19, 2023, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a search warrant at Murphy's residence in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and found Murphy in possession of a Taurus revolver with the serial number removed or obliterated.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.

Assistant United States Attorney Edith A. Singer represented the United States.