TULSA, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said Stacy Lee Drake was located and arrested in Arkansas this morning by Morrilton Police Department and Arkansas State Police.
He is currently being held in the Conway County Jail.
He's a suspect in numerous crimes, including two homicides in Sequoyah County.
Calling Drake a 'career criminal' is an understatement. However, ironically, it is a term that helped him get out of prison.
2 News sifted through what we could find on Drake’s criminal history.
From felony assault, burglary and armed robbery, Drake, now 50, was in and out of prison from 1994 to 2008. Most records consider Drake an Arizona native.
In 2010, he was accused in a multi-state crime spree:
- liquor store robbery in Guymon
- home invasion in Fort Smith, Arkansas
- robbery and carjacking in Alabama
Court documents for the Oklahoma case show there is still an active warrant for his arrest. It does not appear he was prosecuted here.
He did get prosecuted for the part in the crime spree that occurred in Alabama and a court there sentenced him to 22 years in prison.
How'd he get out?
In 2016, his lawyers argued changes in law no longer deem Drake’s crimes as "violent felonies."
Documents state his sentence was enhanced because he was a "career criminal," but because his crimes are no longer considered “violent,” he is not a career criminal, and his sentence should be reduced. Drake won that case, and his sentence was cut in half.
That would have set a release date for 2021 — that’s not what happened.
It is unclear when Drake got out of prison. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation refused to answer any questions regarding the release, citing the investigation.
Where is the investigation now?
In a post Wednesday morning, the OSBI said he is a suspect in three homicides. Then later, said two homicides.
When 2 News asked about the third case, they would not give an explanation into that, either.
We know Drake was arrested in Arizona in December of 2019.
Courts in Alabama revoked his sentence twice for violating conditions and ordered him into custody twice. It’s unclear how long and when he was in prison during that time frame, but documents show Drake was out in September of 2022 and got arrested again.
Documents say he was in the custody of U.S. Marshals and ordered to a drug facility treatment center in November 2022.
Any further documents from PACER, the Public Access to Court Electronic Records, are sealed. A lot of information on PACER for Drake, which contains court documents, are sealed.
What's next?
Due to Wednesday being a federal holiday, many government staff members are not working.
2 News plans to dig more into Drake's past and why he was allowed to be free.
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