Court documents show the suspect associated with the double homicide in Sequoyah County on June 18 had an extensive criminal history.
MORRILTON, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Court documents show the suspect associated with the double homicide in Sequoyah County on June 18 had an extensive criminal history.
Stacy Lee Drake, 50, was arrested in Morrilton on Thursday morning after a multi-day search. He was charged later that day by a Sequoyah County attorney for two counts of first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
He has also been connected to two other homicide investigations, one in El Reno, Okla., and the other in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
This was not the first time Drake was wanted for crimes across multiple states.
1994
Court documents show in Arizona in 1994, Drake was convicted of armed robbery.
2003
Drake was convicted of aggravated assault in Arizona for attacking a peace officer, according to court documents.
February 6, 2010
Fort Smith police say Drake was wanted for a home burglary. The residents of the home were reportedly tied up and had their cash, credit cards and car stolen.
Drake was identified as the suspect in the case but had already fled to Alabama where he was in custody, according to FSPD.
The bank cards and money were never recovered.
March 31, 2010
Drake was indicted by the Northern District of Alabama for a carjacking in Gordo, Alabama, on carjacking, using a firearm during a carjacking, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm charges.
August 27, 2010
Drake pleaded guilty to all three charges and was sentenced to the maximum of 22 years in prison. His sentence was enhanced because of the two previous convictions and considered a "career criminal."
2016
Two Supreme Court cases in 2015 and 2016 allowed for Drake to be resentenced without enhancement because his previous felonies were no longer seen as violent crimes.
"In light of Johnson vs. United States and Welch vs. United States, Mr. Drake is entitled to be resentenced without the career offender enhancements because his Arizona convictions no longer qualify as 'violent felonies'… or as 'crimes of violence…' Mr. Drake is not an armed career criminal or a career offender," a motion for relief said.
2017
Court documents said because of these Supreme Court cases, Drake was resentenced in 2017 to 11 years, half of his original sentence.
His time previously served was credited to this sentence, allowing him to be released sooner.
2022
An Alabama newspaper reported Drake pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery in Dale County in southeastern Alabama. He received a 10-year suspended sentence, according to court documents.
June 2024
On June 18, the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office responded to a double homicide at LaFerry's Propane in Gans.
A filing in Sequoyah County on June 20 said Drake was at the business on the afternoon of June 18 and "no other persons [entered] or [exited]" during that time frame.
Once he left the business, he allegedly drove away in one of the victims' cars which was later found in Morrilton.
The following day, authorities out of Arkansas and Oklahoma announced a manhunt for Drake.
Drake was arrested in Morrilton on June 20 after a multi-day search. Arkansas State Police said Drake was taken into custody without incident by the Morrilton Police Department, ASP and the Conway County Sheriff’s Office.
He was found around 10 a.m. in a wooded area south of the Morrilton intersection of University Boulevard and Poor Farm Road, according to ASP.
Drake has been connected to a homicide investigation in El Reno, Okla. where 56-year-old Phillip Emerson was found dead at a residence on June 14, the El Reno Police Department confirmed to Nexstar’s KFOR.
Also in June, it was announced Drake is also connected to a homicide investigation in Tuscaloosa, Ala. where 62-year-old Russell Thomas Andrews was found dead outside of an Alcoholics Anonymous building on May 14, according to Nexstar’s WIAT.
