Oklahoma’s Comanche Nation Casino Parking Lot Shooting Leads to Federal Charges

Posted on: June 2, 2021, 06:26h. 

Last updated on: June 3, 2021, 02:16h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A man who was banned from a Comanche Nation Casino since 2016 has been charged after allegedly firing a shot last month toward a federal officer in the venue parking lot.

Officers fired taser probes at Michael Oloa
Comanche Nation Police SUVs shown here. The department’s officers were allegedly fired at by a man who was later apprehended near an Oklahoma casino. (Image: Facebook)

News reports published this week say Michael Oloa is charged with assault on an officer with a deadly weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The Lawton, Okla. incident began on May 25, when Oloa was spotted allegedly trespassing on casino property. Since 2016, he was banned from the casino, according to court documents quoted by local media.

Comanche Nation police went up to Oloa inside the casino. He was at a gaming machine. They asked him to show an ID. He first provided what police claimed was a fake ID.

Soon, he ran from them and made his way outside to the parking lot.

Suspect Allegedly Fires Pistol at Officer

While outside, he pulled out a firearm and allegedly fired a shot toward an officer, KSWO, a local TV station said.

Before the shot was discharged, one of the officers had fired a taser probe at Oloa. But he kept running and police fired a second taser probe.

Neither taser shot appeared to have much impact on Oloa. Often, they cause a suspect to suffer from muscle incapacitation. But Oloa was able to run away from officers. He reached the Montego Bay Apartments, which are about a third of a mile away from the Oklahoma casino property.

A short time later, police located him in a patio of an apartment, and he was apprehended.

No officers or players at the casino were injured during the incident, according to a social media post from Comanche Nation Police.

As police searched the apartment complex, they located a Springfield 9mm Hellcat pistol, which officers believe was used in the incident.

When it was found, the firearm was jammed. A bullet had caused the pistol to jam.

Court documents also said Oloa was previously convicted for possession of a controlled dangerous substance in Comanche County.

New Casino Coming in Cache

In April, a groundbreaking took place at Cache, Okla. It is the location of a new Comanche Nation gaming property.

The 17,000-square-foot casino is scheduled to be open for business by New Year’s Eve. The venue will honor the tribe’s history and leaders.

Based in Lawton, Comanche Nation Entertainment manages tribal casino and hotel-casino properties in southwestern Oklahoma. It is owned and operated by the Comanche Nation.

The community is located about 100 miles southwest of the state’s capital city of Oklahoma City.