In an Okmulgee residence on April 7, 2020, the life of 47-year-old Ronald Bubba Chandler was violently cut short. He was not the only victim that day; a second individual also lost their life in the tragic encounter. The incident unfolded from a heated argument that escalated to a fatal shooting.
The initial confrontation resulted in the death of the first victim. When the second victim attempted to intervene and provide aid, the assailant’s gun jammed.
Undeterred, the shooter then retrieved another firearm and shot the second person multiple times. This brutal sequence of events left two people dead and a community in shock.
The investigation into the double homicide was a collaborative effort involving the Okmulgee Police Department, the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Their work led to the identification and arrest of Austin Dean McMahan, a 24-year-old resident of Okmulgee. Because the crimes occurred within the boundaries of the Muscogee Nation Reservation and the defendant is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe, the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
On February 16, 2023, Austin Dean McMahan pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in Indian Country. During his plea hearing, he admitted to unlawfully shooting the first victim in the head and then shooting the second victim multiple times. Subsequently, McMahan was sentenced to 600 months, or 50 years, in prison for each count, with the sentences to be served concurrently. He will serve his non-paroleable sentence in a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility.
