June 17, 2022
A federal jury finds an Idabel man guilty of 2nd degree murder and assault with a dangerous weapon.
Federal prosecutors in Muskogee say 59-year-old Stewart Coffman’s trial started Tuesday and ended yesterday.
They say evidence shows Coffman murdered Joe Battiest Jr. with a metal pipe, at Coffman’s home on October 5th, 2017.
Coffman was originally charged in McCurtain County and convicted of of first degree manslaughter in 2018 and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
That conviction was later reversed for lack of jurisdiction because the victim is Native American.
Federal prosecutors re-filed and re-tried the case.
Sentencing will come at a later date.
