A 33-year-old Grove man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after firing a gun during a drunken argument, with the bullet passing through a wall and landing about a foot from a victim before he carried a 10-month-old baby out of the house. Colton Lee Crane was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.
U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Nassar announced the sentence, which was handed down by U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, according to the Department of Justice. As reported by Fox23, the incident unfolded in July 2025 when Delaware County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a 911 call reporting that Crane had a gun and was screaming in the background.
Deputies Found Crane Walking Down the Road With the Infant
According to Fox23, deputies who arrived found Crane walking down the road holding the baby after he had lowered the firearm and walked out of the residence. Court documents cited by the DOJ add that Crane had pushed past family members inside the home before leaving with the infant, and that responding deputies intercepted him along the road near the residence shortly after the 911 call. Deputies said Crane had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, was unsteady on his feet, and smelled of alcohol.
Crane admitted to authorities that he started drinking after getting home from work, per the earlier report. He had argued with family members before the shooting, and court documents indicate he admitted to kicking in a door, pointing a firearm at a person, and firing the weapon — the bullet ultimately passing through a wall and coming to rest about a foot from the victim.
Federal Charge Carries a Mandatory 10-Year Floor
Crane was sentenced for carrying, using, brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), discharging a firearm during a federal crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison that cannot run concurrently with any other charge, according to the Legal Information Institute. United States Sentencing Commission data for fiscal year 2025 show that 100% of people convicted under that statute were sentenced to prison, with an average sentence of 149 months across all such cases nationwide, per the United States Sentencing Commission.
The case marks the second time Crane has been convicted of pointing a firearm at a family member. He was previously convicted of pointing a firearm at his former spouse and firing it while children were present, according to the DOJ. He will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Why a Local Case Landed in Federal Court
Crane is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and the shooting occurred within Cherokee Nation reservation boundaries in Delaware County — a jurisdictional detail that explains why the case was prosecuted federally rather than in state court. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 McGirt v. Oklahoma decision, federal courts hold criminal jurisdiction over major and violent crimes committed by or against tribal citizens within recognized reservation boundaries, according to the Oklahoma Bar Association.
The investigation was conducted jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Wright, the DOJ said. Crane's case was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative that brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement to reduce violent crime.
Judge Hill, who presided over the sentencing, was sworn in during January 2024 as the first Native American woman to serve as a federal judge in Oklahoma, according to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. She previously served nearly two decades representing the Cherokee Nation, including as its Attorney General and as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, before her appointment to the federal bench.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Oklahoma
The case comes amid a documented rise in domestic violence homicides across the state. An annual report from the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office found that domestic violence homicides in Oklahoma climbed to an average of 115 victims per year from 2019 to 2023, up from 90 annually between 2014 and 2018. Federal Bureau of Investigation crime data recorded 22 violent crime offenses in Grove during 2024, according to Data Commons figures for the rural Delaware County municipality.
