Convicted Felon Arrested In Muskogee Homicide

Muskogee police have arrested a convicted felon for first-degree murder after a man was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds on Sunday.

Deontee Eugene Newton, 21, is now behind bars in the Muskogee County jail.

Officers said they were dispatched to a shooting at the Pines Apartments on Denver Street near Highway 69 around noon.

Police said they were able to arrest Newton because of neighbor eyewitness accounts.

"One guy walked in, they closed the door and they heard pop, pop, pop!" neighbor Brian Shields said.

The shots killed a man and barely missed Shields' cousin next door.

"Bullets went through his house. {If] he'd been sitting on his couch, he'd been shot," Shields said.

Neighbors immediately called 911 and gave a description of the suspect vehicle, described only as a darker colored, four-door car.

"When I heard that someone died, yeah, it like made my heart drop," neighbor Hyun Kim said.

The identity of the victim has not been released, pending notification of next of kin.

Police said they have not uncovered a possible motive in the shooting at this time.

"We had some guys get out here real quickly, get to work on this thing and had a guy in custody within hours of the shooting, so yeah, real happy with those results," Cpl. Michael Mahan said.

Court records show Newton has two ongoing cases in Muskogee County. Prosecutors recently filed to revoke a suspended sentence for firearms, DUI-related offenses and drug possession.  He also is facing charges for conjoint robbery. Newton is due in court next week in both cases.

Newton previously was charged with first-degree murder in a 2010 case, but charges were dismissed last May because of a hung jury.