Defendant sentenced to 90 months in prison for assault, robbery

A 43-year-old Tulsa man was sentenced Friday in federal court for assaulting and threatening to kill a victim, robbing him of hundreds of dollars, and stealing his vehicle.

“Merle Lancaster Sr. violently assaulted the victim with a baseball bat during a robbery and has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to fight violent crime across the Northern District of Oklahoma and deliver justice on behalf of victims.”

U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Merle Jason Lancaster Sr., to 90 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Lancaster pleaded guilty in November 2021 to robbery in Indian Country. He admitted that on Feb. 3, 2021, he threatened to kill the victim and his family if he did not hand over money or drugs. Lancaster further assaulted the victim with a baseball bat to force the victim to comply with his demands.

The man was then forced into his own vehicle, and Lancaster and an accomplice drove the man to a convenience store so he could withdraw several hundred dollars from an ATM. Video surveillance showed the victim and Lancaster entering the convenience store, and the victim withdrawing cash and handing it over to Lancaster as Lancaster stood over him.

The three then left the convenience store, and Lancaster and his accomplice eventually forced the man out of the car and drove away.