TULSA, Okla. – A man in Oklahoma is fortunate to be alive after a suspect drove a flagpole through his skull at a fast food restaurant Wednesday, according to law enforcement authorities.
Clinton Collins was identified as the man who is accused of committing the horrific crime, which occurred at a Sonic fast foot restaurant about 7:30 p.m. in the Tulsa Hills neighborhood. He was arrested for “Maiming AFCF (After Former Conviction of a Felony),” officials said.
The Tulsa Police Department provided the following case overview.
On 8/2/2023 around 7:30 p.m., Officers were called out to the Sonic at Tulsa Hills on 81st St in reference to a stabbing.
When Officers arrived, they found the male victim with a flagpole through his head. The pole entered the victim’s head beneath his jaw and exited the other side of his head near his right temple area. The American Flag was still attached the pole at the time.
Multiple witnesses said they saw the suspect, identified as Clinton Collins, charge at the victim and stab him with the flagpole through his head.
The witnesses said they also heard Collins say, “That’s what he gets. He deserved it.”
Officers quickly took Collins into custody when they arrived on the scene.
Firefighters with the Tulsa Fire Department had to cut part of the flagpole in order to fit the victim into the ambulance. Miraculously, we’re told the victim will survive his injuries, but will likely lose an eye.
“Like you’d see in a TV show or a horror movie, ran at him and stabbed him through the head,” Officer Danny Bean told 2 News.
“Went through the bottom and out through the other side.”
The attack occurred at a Sonic in the Tulsa Hills neighborhood. (Google Maps)
The crime of maiming is a felony in Oklahoma, which carries a punishment of up to life in prison upon conviction, the New York Post reported.
Police did not disclose what led to the strange attack inside the fast food chain, nor did they describe the dimensions of the flagpole.
Collins is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. As a result, it is unclear whether the case will be handled in tribal court or US District Court.
According to the Post, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that Oklahoma prosecutors lack the authority to pursue criminal cases against defendants who are tribal citizens in a large chunk of eastern Oklahoma since the territory remains an American Indian reservation. That area includes much of Tulsa.
Conversely, in 2022 the Supreme Court ruled that the State of Oklahoma can prosecute non-Native Americans for crimes committed on tribal land when the victim is Native American.
