KC Man Sentenced to 32 Years for Murder-for-Hire Conspiracy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to commit murder for hire, felon in possession of a firearm, and violation of a previous term of federal supervised release.

Thomas D. Clegg, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 30 years in federal prison without parole for participating in a conspiracy to commit murder for hire and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Clegg was also sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for a violation of his supervised release on a felon in possession of a firearm case from 2012. He committed the conspiracy and weapons offenses while on that term of supervision. All sentences imposed were ordered to run consecutively for a total of 32 years.

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 conspiracy included two occasions when Clegg shot J.C. On Aug. 19, 2021, Clegg shot J.C. in the leg and back in the parking lot of Ugly Joe's bar in Kansas City, Mo. On May 25, 2022, Clegg shot J.C. multiple times in the parking lot of a strip mall located at 4010 Sterling Ave., Kansas City, Mo. The businesses in and near the strip mall included an accounting firm, daycare, and fitness center. One witness had two children in her vehicle and was picking up her third child from the daycare when her vehicle was struck by gunfire. Her driver's side window was shot out, but no one in her vehicle was injured.

Investigators seized Clegg's cellphones when he was arrested. Investigators obtained search warrants for Clegg's cellphones and discovered several text messages between Clegg and co-conspirators demonstrating that Clegg was hired to murder J.C. The messages also showed a persistent pattern of Clegg and others tracking members of J.C.'s family in attempts to locate and murder them.

In May 2025, Clegg pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Clegg was found guilty of the conspiracy to commit murder for hire at the conclusion of a five-day jury trial.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashleigh A. Ragner and Heather Siegele. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo. Police Department, the Independence, Mo. Police Department, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.