Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

An Osage Nation citizen has been convicted in federal court on several firearm and assault charges.

The federal jury found 37-year old Antonio Jerome Colbert guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence following a shooting incident in east Tulsa, which is part of the Muscogee Nation. Since the crime occurred on a tribal reservation and Colbert is a tribal citizen, federal courts had jurisdiction.

In September 2024, several witnesses called 911, reporting they heard yelling, a gunshot, or witnessed a man assaulting a woman. Tulsa Police officers responded to the shots fired call. Upon arrival, officers observed an SUV parked on the sidewalk with open doors. Officers immediately took Colbert into custody.

One witness testified that they heard a lot of yelling and looked over the fence to see what was happening. He observed a woman walking down the sidewalk when an SUV crossed the ditch, driving towards the woman. Colbert barely missed the woman and got out of the vehicle, yelling at her. The witness saw Colbert pull a handgun and shoot at the woman. Colbert’s shot missed the woman, and in his fit of rage, he began assaulting her. Body camera evidence presented to the jury showed the woman was visibly shaken, crying and in need of intervention.

Despite a witness reportedly seeing Colbert shot at the woman, Colbert claimed he did not have a firearm and denied shooting at the woman. After a search of the vehicle that Colbert was driving, officers found a loaded handgun wedged in the seat. The officer who recovered the firearm testified that the handgun was jammed with a shell casing that failed to eject. 

Further, the investigation revealed that Colbert was knowingly convicted of other felonies that prohibited him from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Tulsa Police Department investigated the case.