Federal prosecutors have indicted a man for allegedly providing the gun used in the killing of Tulsa Police Sgt. Craig Johnson and the wounding of Ofc. Aurash Zarkeshan in June.
"Jakob Garland is alleged to have been the person who gave the gun to David Ware. He is alleged to have exchanged that gun for heroin," said Trent Shores, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Shores made the announcement Tuesday at a joint press conference between his office, the Tulsa Police Department, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms at TPD headquarters, as part of the unveiling of the "2150 Initiative," which bears Johnson's badge number and has a stated goal of "combat[ing] violent crime by focusing efforts on prohibited persons in possession of firearms as well as those responsible as the 'source' of the firearms to prohibited persons."
Shores alleged that Garland was legally prohibited, as a convicted felon, of possessing the gun, and that it was also illegal for him to give it to Ware, who is accused of the shooting.
Shores said TPD Sgt. Mike Parsons, shot and injured in 2018, was also the victim of a shooter who was in illegal possession of the firearm used.
"That's why these cases are so important. It's why we must continue to do them, and it is why the heart of the 2150 Initiative, it is about reducing violent crime for everyone, but in particular protecting those selfless men and woman who are a thin blue line," Shores said.
Garland is being held in Tulsa County jail, and is scheduled to appear in federal court on Thursday.
