Jake McLain was 19 and from Idabel, Oklahoma. He died from a gunshot wound on the night of Friday, March 15, 2019, after a prearranged meeting in Oklahoma City to sell four ounces of marijuana for $600. McLain and his friend, 20-year-old Seth Tisho, drove to the Liberty Station apartments in the city’s northeast for the transaction. Two men identified as Jonate Jefferson and Elijah Wilson had agreed to buy the drugs but later told investigators their plan was to rob McLain and Tisho.

According to Jefferson’s later confession to police, Jefferson was armed with an assault rifle and pointed it at McLain; a struggle over the weapon ensued and Jefferson said he shot McLain during the fight. Jefferson and Wilson fled but were later found at a nearby apartment along with the rifle and were arrested. Tisho was initially held on a murder complaint tied to the felony drug sale; that complaint was dismissed and he pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute, receiving a 10-year suspended sentence in exchange for testifying against the others.

After a preliminary hearing in August 2019, Jefferson and Wilson were ordered to stand trial on first-degree murder charges.

Did anyone in the Liberty Station area see the car or the men arriving that night who hasn’t spoken to investigators?