Murder-for-Hire

Defendant Convicted of Murder-for-Hire


March 29, 2010 - Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Miami Field Office, and James K. Loftus, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department, announced that a federal jury found defendant Vivens Delorme guilty this afternoon on charges of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1958(a). The jury began its deliberations earlier today, after a one and one-half-week trial.

According to evidence presented at trial, on November 19, 2006, a documented FBI confidential informant (“victim”) was shot in the head while sitting in his van outside a relative’s home. The victim died the next day. Following the victim’s murder, Miami-Dade police officers and FBI agents began investigating the murder. They suspected that Delorme might be involved in the victim’s murder as retribution for the victim’s participation in an FBI sting that resulted in Delorme’s arrest for federal narcotics charges in August 2006. The investigation revealed that Delorme paid money to Courtney Terlonge, Joshua Laing, and Vernon Jones to commit the murder on November 19, 2006. Terlonge, Laing, and Jones previously pled guilty to their respective roles in this murder.

Sentencing has been scheduled for May 25, 2010. At sentencing, Delorme faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment on each count.

Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the Miami-Dade Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marcus A. Christian, Brian Dobbins, and Jamie M. McCall.