Federal charges added to Lawton man’s rap sheet

OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal indictment was filed Tuesday against a Lawton man already charged in Comanche County for allegations he hid the gun used in the Dec. 10, 2023, shooting of an 8-year-old, as well as exposing an 8-month-old to a home with accessible guns and drugs.

The Federal Grand Jury leveled charges in the U.S. Western District Court of being a drug user in possession of firearms and unlawful possession of a machine gun against Jeremiah Alexander “Lil Shoota” Dearing, 20, records indicate. The drug user in possession of a firearm count is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and the machine gun count, another 10 years.

Federal prosecutors are also seeking criminal forfeiture of the weapons.

Dearing was charged Oct. 25 in Comanche County District Court

with felony counts of accessory to a shooting with intent to kill and child neglect, records indicate. The child neglect charge is punishable by up to life in prison.

The shooting case follows the 2023 incident that led to the Dec. 19, 2023, charge of shooting with intent to kill against Jullian Ramone Phillips, 31, of Lawton. He is accused of shooting a car driven by Nichole Groshong who was making a DoorDash delivery with her 8-year-old son, Zack, and 10-year-old son, Waylon, riding with her, along with her mother-in-law. While out, they were looking at Christmas lights in the 900 block of Southwest 35th Street.

According to the probable cause affidavit, he told police he grabbed an “AK type” rifle and fired rounds, striking the car and the 8-year-old in the head.

The gun was not recovered.

While Phillips has been in jail on $1 million bond, he spoke through video call with Dearing; Phillips is in a relationship with Dearing’s mother, the affidavit states.

During the communications, Dearing showed signs of affiliation with the 107 Hoover Criminals and held up a Draco AK 47 pistol investigators believe was used in the December 2023 shooting, according to the affidavit. Dearing is also considered a suspect in an August shooting where an automatic weapon was used, according to police.

A search warrant conducted at Dearing’s home turned up the automatic weapon as well as a .40 caliber pistol, a 9mm pistol, and two AR style pistols with modifications with four of the five weapons chamber-loaded and two were not on safe mode, the affidavit states. They were lying in a baby bouncer seat inside Dearing’s room in proximity to his 8-month-old child who was crawling on the ground, the affidavit states. Other gun accessories were also found in the room as well as a bag with 92 fentanyl pills and bags of marijuana. Also, there were dogs who had not been left out often with feces and urine on the floor and an infestation of cockroaches in the home.

Dearing has been held on $35,000 bond in the Comanche County Detention Center. He is currently in federal custody at the Grady County jail.