OKLAHOMA CITY – Vernon Wayne Brock, 70, of Alva, has pleaded guilty to hiring someone to commit murder, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing.
A federal grand jury indicted Brock on April 17, 2019, for using interstate commerce facilities to commit murder-for-hire during the first few days of April. According to an affidavit filed in the case, an individual from Kansas whom Brock was trying to hire to commit murder contacted the FBI and cooperated in the investigation.
Law enforcement determined that Brock and the individual from Kansas were partners in Oklahoma vape shops and that Brock was upset with a former employee who refused to continue a sexual relationship with him. Brock wanted the individual from Kansas to arrange the murder of the former employee’s boyfriend in Oklahoma City in exchange for $5,000.
He identified the boyfriend by sending a picture to the individual from Kansas and confirming ‘that’s the guy we want dead.’ Recorded conversations between Brock and the individual from Kansas included statements such as: ‘Are they going to thump her around a little bit? And do him? Cause that’s what I wanted.’
FBI agents arrested Brock on the afternoon of April 3, with the assistance of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office, after Brock delivered a $5,000 check to the individual from Kansas at a café in Harper, Kansas. He has been in federal custody since that time.
Brock pleaded guilty this morning to the one-count indictment. He admitted he traveled in interstate commerce on April 1, 2019, and used facilities of interstate commerce—a cell phone and a pickup truck—with intent that murder be committed in exchange for payment.
At sentencing, Brock faces a potential penalty of ten years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days.
Related Federal Cases
- Chad Alan Hudgins, Second-Degree Murder, Oklahoma 2021 · Alabama
- Adam Raymond Mason, First-Degree Murder, OK 2024 · Texas
- Seminole Man Sentenced for 2nd Degree Murder · Mississippi
- Oklahoma Hitman Sentenced to Life for St. Louis Teacher’s Slaying · Missouri
- Phillip J. Cutler, Premeditated Murder, Missouri 2024 · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Oklahoma
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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