Oklahoma Man Receives Life Sentence for Murder Over ‘Joke’ Casino Winnings

Posted on: November 10, 2023, 07:46h. 

Last updated on: November 15, 2023, 02:53h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More

Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

A Muskogee, Okla. man has been sentenced to two life terms in prison without the possibility of parole for a 2020 murder linked to nonexistent casino winnings.

Kevin Marvell Jackson, 22, shot Bradley Dillon, 19, five times after he had joked about winning $10K at a local casino. Jackson believed the victim’s claim and intended to rob him, but became enraged when he discovered Dillon had no money.

Mr. Jackson’s cold-blooded crimes are deserving of the life sentence handed down by the Court,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson.  “There can be no room in society for such callous acts, and this office will prosecute anyone who commits such crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”

Jackson was also sentenced to 180 months imprisonment on one count of robbery in Indian Country and 180 months imprisonment on one count of using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

Fatal Joke

During his trial, the jury heard that on Oct. 19, 2020, the defendant attended a small house party in Muskogee with his girlfriend, Natalie McMahon. Dillon, who was friends with McMahon, was also in attendance.

Dillon and another friend, Dakota Berryhill, left the house to go to the nearby Creek Nation Casino Muskogee.

Several hours later, they made a call to the property to say they were on their way back and joked they had won big. Taking this at face value, Jackson donned a ski mask and lay in wait to rob the pair as they returned to the house.

Jackson ambushed the pair outside the property and ordered them at gunpoint to turn over all their cash. When he realized they had none, he told them to get back into their car to drive to an ATM machine. Berryhill got into the vehicle and sped off, leaving his friend behind, which is when Jackson shot the victim.

Dillon was transported to St. Francis Hospital in Muskogee, where he was pronounced dead.

FBI Manhunt

Jackson was incriminated by witness testimonies and Facebook Messenger conversations with McMahon, in which she assured him she did not “snitch” on him to the FBI.

Vicky Garza, a tenant at the property, told investigators she had seen a man in a black hoodie and black ski mask walking behind Dillon and Berryhill as they approached the house. She later identified the man as Jackson when he removed his ski mask.

Jackson was arrested several weeks later in Oklahoma City following an FBI manhunt.