In the spring of 2018, the life of 50-year-old Howard Thompson, a Black/African American male, was violently cut short in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On the evening of April 6th, two men laid in wait outside Thompson's home on North Hartford Place, intending to rob him and burglarize his residence, believing it to contain a significant amount of money and drugs.
The assailants, Dameon Leathers and Lloyd Clemons, ambushed Thompson as he tried to leave his house.
Leathers brandished a firearm and demanded money before forcing Thompson back inside. In a bedroom, the situation escalated as Leathers pistol-whipped Thompson while they searched for valuables. At one point, Thompson managed to grab a gun from under a pillow and fired at the intruders, causing them to flee. However, a short time later, Leathers returned to the home alone and shot Thompson to death in his driveway. His body was discovered on April 7, 2018.
The investigation into the homicide quickly pointed to a robbery as the motive, as police learned that Thompson was known to carry large sums of cash. Investigators identified Lloyd Clemons, then 27, as one of the suspects, and he was apprehended shortly after the murder. In an interview from jail, Clemons admitted to being a thief but denied being a killer, claiming that he and his accomplice had gone to the house to steal and that Thompson was already dead when they arrived.
The second suspect, 36-year-old Dameon Leathers, initially evaded capture and was named 'Tulsa's Most Wanted.' He was considered armed and dangerous. The manhunt for Leathers concluded on May 14, 2018, when he was arrested in Wichita, Kansas. Both men were subsequently charged in connection with the robbery and murder of Howard Thompson.
Following the arrests, the legal process moved forward. Dameon Leathers stood trial and was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. In 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder conviction.
