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Oklahoma Teen Pleads Guilty to Murder in Indian Country in Marijuana Grow Killings

Matthew Ray Jones, 19, admitted to second-degree murder and firearm charges in the deaths of two people at a Wynnewood marijuana grow in April 2025.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 21, 2026, 11:02 a.m. ET
A Wynnewood, Oklahoma, teenager guilty on August 21, 2026, to federal charges of second-degree murder in Indian Country and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma. Matthew Ray Jones, who was a juvenile at the time of the offenses, entered the plea as an adult and will be sentenced as an adult. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, on April 18, 2025, Jones and another individual, Whyitt Collins, broke into a residence on a marijuana grow outside Wynnewood. Both were armed with handguns and shot and killed two people inside, then took items before leaving. Jones admitted to unlawfully killing one victim and aiding and abetting the killing of the second. He faces up to life in federal prison and fines up to $500,000. The case is in federal court because Jones is a member of the Choctaw Nation and the crimes occurred within the Chickasaw Nation's boundaries. Collins was sentenced to life without parole on June 29, 2026, in Garvin County District Court after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree burglary. The investigation was conducted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Jones's sentencing has not been scheduled.

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