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The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that Lloyd Ray Hatley, age 67, of Ada, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury of Involuntary Manslaughter in Indian Country. The jury trial began with testimony on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, and concluded on Friday, April 29, 2022, with the guilty verdict.
During the trial, the United States presented evidence that, on February 22, 2017, Lloyd Ray Hatley was driving a pickup truck on State Highway One in Pontotoc County, traveling at a high rate of speed, and failing to devote his full time and attention to driving, he crashed directly into the rear of a Pontiac Grand AM driven by Gay Ott and occupied by passengers Mary Nappa and Stephen Ott. The collision killed Mary Nappa and caused significant bodily injury to Gay Ott, who passed away in 2020. The guilty verdict resulted from an investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case because the defendant, in this case, is a member of a federally-recognized Indian tribe, and the crime occurred in Pontotoc County, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation, and the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable Charles B. Goodwin, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, presided over the trial and ordered the completion of a presentence report, with the sentencing to follow. Hatley is in the custody of the United States Marshal pending the imposition of sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Gross and Special Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Ibanez represented the United States.