Former police officer Shannon Kepler, 61, was sentenced [Friday] in federal court for killing Jeremey Lake on Aug. 5, 2014.
The conviction came after multiple previous mistrials.
U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Kepler to 25 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Per the family’s request, he further ordered Kepler to pay restitution in an amount to cover the cost of a headstone for the victim. Kepler was sentenced for using a firearm in the commission of second degree murder. A separate assault charge for firing at Lake’s brother was previously dismissed by Judge Frizzell due to the statute of limitations.
During sentencing, Jeremey’s father spoke in court. He described the emotional and physical toll taken by his first-born son’s death and the subsequent trials. He described how difficult it was to think of his son suffering while the defendant drove away from the crime scene.
Jeremey’s father and the family members who submitted letters reminded the Court that Jeremey never had the chance to grow into the man he had hoped to become for his unborn child. They explained that prior to his death, Jeremey found a steady residence and intended to go to welding school. They also spoke about his selflessness and willingness to help others, as evidenced by his volunteer work at the homeless shelter. One family member explained that the only place she could speak to Jeremey now was at his grave.
“Nineteen-year-old Jeremey Lake died almost immediately after Shannon Kepler gunned him down in the street in 2014,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Kepler, at the time, was sworn to uphold the law but instead made a series of decisions that led to the young man’s murder. Today’s 25-year sentence provides a measure of justice to Mr. Lake’s family, though I know their healing continues. It also serves as a reminder that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will hold individuals accountable for acts of violence in our community.”
A federal jury convicted Kepler in April 2021 for killing Lake.
A week prior to Lake’s 2014 murder, Kepler dropped off his 18-year-old daughter at a homeless shelter with no extra clothing, no money, and no cell phone.
Days after dropping her off, Kepler logged into Lisa’s Facebook page and saw she was suddenly “in a relationship” with Jeremey Lake. Kepler’s attorney stated that Kepler was “alarmed” with what he saw on Lake’s Facebook page, and, while still at work, Kepler requested a records clerk to run a search on Lake’s history. Kepler learned that Lake was the victim of child abuse at a very young age and was previously charged as a juvenile after pushing a social services worker. Those charges did not result in a conviction.
Kepler then copied down Lake’s last known address—202 North Maybelle Avenue—on the printed arrest and booking sheet involving Lake. Later, Kepler changed clothes, waited until dark, retrieved his .357 magnum revolver, and drove his wife’s dark SUV to the home where Lake was staying. Kepler testified that he knew the revolver would not leave shell casings at the scene. Kepler arrived at approximately 9 pm and saw his daughter and Lake walking together. He tried to talk to his daughter, but she rebuffed him and started walking toward the home. As Lake stood in the street, Kepler pulled his revolver and shot Jeremey Lake twice, quickly causing his death. Kepler then turned and fired at least three more rounds in the direction of the witnesses—Lake’s friend Josh Mills, Lake’s 13-year-old brother Michael Hamilton, and Kepler’s own daughter, Lisa. Hamilton was sitting on the home’s front porch at the time and was slightly injured during the shooting. Kepler then fled the scene, testifying that he knew his fellow Tulsa police officers would be hunting for him, his vehicle, and his weapon. He abandoned the SUV at a former Motel 6 just off the Broken Arrow Expressway and eventually turned himself in. Approximately 14 hours after the shooting, his former attorney brought the still-loaded murder weapon into the Tulsa Police Station in a zip lock bag.
When testifying, Kepler claimed that, although no gun was ever found at the scene, he shot Lake in self-defense after Lake “got the jump on him,” pulling a shiny, semi-automatic pistol from his pants pocket. While Kepler’s attorney argued that a gun found in the Tulsa Police Department several days later “could” have been taken from the scene, expert and forensic evidence proved that the two incidents were unrelated.
The prosecution proved that Kepler had not only heard about the unrelated gun, but that he had also been provided with police reports and photographs of it before ever testifying.
In his closing statement, Lenhardt reviewed the charges and critical evidence that supported a finding of guilty on each count. The prosecution asked the jury to conclude that although Kepler alleged that he went to 202 North Maybelle to confront his daughter, he actually went there to confront Lake. The evidence proved that once there, Kepler shot Lake twice, and then began shooting at the witnesses that were present.
After seeing Lake and Lisa Kepler around 9 pm, Kepler approached Lake and shot him in the street on North Maybelle Avenue, near downtown Tulsa. After shooting the victim twice through the chest, he turned and fired in the direction of his daughter, the victim’s brother, and a third witness to the killing. Lake died at the scene.
At the time of the murder, Kepler was a 24-year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department.
Kepler appealed his 2017 State manslaughter conviction for the killing on grounds that his case should have been tried in federal court based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma. Kepler is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation, and the shooting took place on the nation’s Reservation.
