A Keithsburg man receives a 33-year prison term in a solicitation of murder for hire case. 49-year-old Kevin Hockenberry was sentenced Tuesday afternoon in Mercer County Circuit Court after being found guilty of the Class X felony charge by a jury in late March. Current Mercer County State’s Attorney Grace Simpson says he was accused of trying to pay someone to kill former Mercer County State’s Attorney Meeghan Lee.
Hockenberry had been in custody on $500,000 bond.
He has other pending criminal cases–including a Class 3 felony of sexual relations within families. That charge is in connection with an alleged incident that occurred in April of 2019. A June 12 status hearing is set for those matters.