Sedalia Man Pleads Guilty to Murder for Hire

 Paid Undercover Agent to Kill Victim in Pending Statutory Sodomy Case

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Sedalia, Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court today to attempting to hire an undercover law enforcement agent to murder the victim in a pending statutory sodomy case.

Jon Mark Wilson, 57, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps Jr. to one count of the use of interstate facilities (the use of a cell phone and crossing state lines) in the commission of murder for hire.

By pleading guilty today, Wilson admitted that he paid $2,000 to an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to murder his alleged victim in a separate state case. Wilson has been charged in Pettis County, Mo., with two counts of felony first degree statutory sodomy in a case that is still pending.

Wilson solicited another person in January 2019 to arrange the murder for him. That person contacted law enforcement authorities and helped arrange a meeting with Wilson and the undercover agent. Wilson agreed to hire the undercover agent to murder the intended victim. On Jan. 22, 2019, Wilson drove from Sedalia to Kansas City, Kansas, to meet with the undercover agent. Wilson paid the undercover agent $2,000, made arrangements to pay another $5,000 after the murder, and gave him a photo of the intended victim. Wilson also went into the Cabela’s store and purchased shotgun shells for the undercover agent to use in the murder. When Wilson left the area, he was stopped and arrested by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper.

Under federal statutes, Wilson is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Sedalia, Mo., Police Department.