Alva Review-Courier -

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 Nov. 6 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.

This case is a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Oklahoma City Field Office, Woodward Resident Agency. Prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Altshuler and Jason Harley, the case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses on the most violent offenders and partners with local prevention and re-entry programs for lasting reductions in crime. To enhance local effectiveness, the Western District of Oklahoma has emphasized prosecution of federal crimes connected to domestic violence.