Individual Pleads Guilty to Arson of a Dwelling in Indian Country
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Dillion McClain, 32, entered a guilty plea to Arson of a Dwelling in Indian Country in violation of 18 United States Code Sections 81, 1151 and 1153, punishable by imprisonment for any term of years or for life and/or a fine of $250,000.00, a term of supervised release not more than 5 years, and a special assessment in the amount of $100.00.
The Indictment alleged that on or about January 27, 2021, the Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a private residence in Ada, Oklahoma for a house fire, and four separate smoldering fires were extinguished and there was a haze of smoke inside the home. The defendant is the son of the owner/renter of the home, and the defendant posted a video with audio on Facebook of him burning property inside the home. A review of the audio of the Facebook posting revealed that the defendant states on the audio that the “whole house is fixing to go up into flames in about 30 minutes.”
The charges arose from an investigation by the Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Honorable Kimberley West, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Gross represented the United States.