Muscogee Citizen Charged after Threatening and Assaulting a Woman with Automobile

A Muscogee Citizen faces assault charges in U.S. District Court for repeatedly rear-ending a woman’s car with his automobile during a 2018 domestic violence incident, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Ted Roosevelt Yargee, 59, was charged by Criminal Complaint with assault with a dangerous weapon in Indian Country. The alleged crime occurred within the Muscogee Nation Reservation. The United States and the Muscogee Nation have jurisdiction over all cases that occur on the reservation involving Native American victims or defendants.

On October 20, 2018, Yargee followed the woman to a QuikTrip gas station located at 71^st and Olympia, in Tulsa. According to court documents, Yargee used his vehicle to ram the back of her vehicle at the station. He then blocked the victim’s driver side door with his vehicle, making it difficult to exit her own., and made multiple demands of the woman.

As the victim departed QuikTrip, Yargee followed her eastwards on 71^st street. Yargee again rammed the back of the victim’s vehicle until arriving at the stoplight at 71^st and Riverside. He then pulled along the side of the victim’s vehicle causing damage to the side of her vehicle. The victim called 911, and Yargee began verbally assaulting and threatening her. Yargee could allegedly be heard through the 911 dispatch radio yelling and making threats. Yargee is also alleged to have brandished a baseball bat.

A Tulsa police officer arrived at the intersection of 71^st and Riverside to investigate the ongoing situation. The officer observed Yargee’s vehicle pull away from the side of the victim’s vehicle to ram into the front of her vehicle. Yargee then fled the scene but pulled over when the officer initiated a stop. At that time, a wooden bat was found in Yargee’s vehicle and he was taken into custody.

A Complaint is a temporary charge alleging violation of the law. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. For the case to proceed to trial, the United States must present the charge to a federal Grand Jury within 30 days. Once a Grand Jury returns an Indictment, a defendant has a right to a jury trial at which time the United States would have the burden of proving the defendant’s guilt.

The FBI and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Childress is prosecuting the case.