On the evening of July 3, 2022, the life of 23-year-old Tyler Lane Kirk, a Native American male, was tragically cut short in his Tulsa, Oklahoma, home. A concerned family member went to check on him in his residence in the 5600 block of North Gillette Avenue after he unexpectedly stopped responding to text messages. Upon entering the home, the grim discovery was made; Kirk was deceased.
Authorities from the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office were called to the scene just after 11 p.m.
and confirmed that Kirk had sustained a fatal gunshot wound. The investigation quickly pointed to a suspect, 23-year-old Tyler James Lewis of Coweta. Lewis was described as a white male, 5'7' tall, with red hair and hazel eyes, and was believed to be driving a black 2017 GMC Sierra Denali truck. Because both the victim and the suspect were identified as Native American, the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office in the investigation.
The day after the discovery of Kirk's body, on July 4, 2022, Tyler James Lewis turned himself in to authorities. He was subsequently booked into the Tulsa County Jail. Following his surrender, a federal grand jury handed down an indictment against Lewis on four counts of corruptly tampering with evidence. The indictment alleged that between July 3 and July 4, 2022, Lewis had attempted to impair the investigation into Kirk's shooting by tampering with multiple pieces of evidence. This included the victim's body, a blue shirt, a cell phone, and the black GMC Denali pickup truck.
