A Keithsburg man found guilty of solicitation of murder for hire. The verdict returned late Wednesday morning following a three-day jury trial and one-hour of deliberations.
48-year-old Kevin Hockenberry will be sentenced June 5. He was accused of trying to pay someone $10,000 to kill former Mercer County State’s Attorney Meeghan Lee.
It was his third jury trial. A mistrial was declared in late November and his first trial ended in a hung jury last August after the jury foreperson reported to the court that they were “hopelessly deadlocked”.
Hockenberry 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.
He remains in custody at the Mercer County Jail on $500,000 bond.
