KANSAS CITY, MO. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Missouri, Western), published as received.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for his role in a murder-for-hire conspiracy after being indicted last year for illegally possessing firearms.
Thomas D. Clegg, 40, was charged in a two-count second superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, June 20. The second superseding indictment replaces the original Oct. 11, 2022, indictment and a superseding indictment that contained the firearms count, and includes the additional conspiracy charge.
The federal indictment charges Clegg with one count of participating in a conspiracy to commit murder for hire and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms.
The indictment alleges that Clegg and others conspired from Aug. 19, 2021, to June 13, 2022, to murder a victim identified as “J.C.” and his family members for payment in cash and marijuana.
The indictment also alleges that Clegg was in possession of a Glock .40-caliber pistol and a Springfield Armory .45-caliber pistol between May 25 and June 13, 2022. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Clegg has two prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, as well as prior felony convictions for unlawful use of a weapon, trafficking in drugs, voluntary manslaughter, discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, assault, armed criminal action, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys D. Michael Green and Ashleigh A. Ragner. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the Independence, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
