Man shoots ‘intruder’ in back of the head, then realizes he killed his uncle, feds say

An Oklahoma man thought an intruder was in his home when he grabbed a gun and shot the man in the back of his head, according to federal authorities. But the man would soon realize he had killed his uncle, prosecutors said.

Now more than four years later, Bailey Warren Sparkman has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Indian Country, according to an Oct. 4 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma. In pleading guilty, the 23-year-old Cherokee citizen of Owasso faces up to eight years in federal prison.

His defense attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

Zachary Daniel Sparkman, 30, was fatally shot on March 18, 2019, according to the Tulsa World.

Zachary and his nephew, Bailey, had been raised by Zachary’s father, authorities said in court records. Sometime before the March 18, 2019, shooting, the uncle had been kicked out of the house.

But the uncle still had a room and his belongings in the home, authorities said.

The day of the shooting, Bailey Sparkman said he was home alone.

“Although I didn’t know it at the time, Zachary had come to the house with his dog and had been in his room next to mine,” according to his plea agreement. “Zachary had been in the house for a couple of hours.”

When Bailey Sparkman went downstairs, he “saw someone standing at the back door,” authorities said.

“I grabbed the gun in my grandfather’s room,” his plea agreement said. “I did not speak to that person or try to determine who was in the house.

“When I returned, the person had not moved and was still at the back door looking out,” the statement continued. “I shot him once in the back of the head, killing him. I then realized that it was Zachary.”

The man’s sentencing date has not been scheduled as of Oct. 5.

Owasso is about 15 miles northeast of Tulsa.

This story was originally published October 5, 2023 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Man shoots ‘intruder’ in back of the head, then realizes he killed his uncle, feds say."