Published: June 05, 2009 10:57 am      

Mullins sentenced in murder plot

Muskogee — One of three suspects accused of conspiring to kill an Ada woman was sentenced in federal court Thursday.

Tonia Rene Mullins, 32, Ada, was sentenced for interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, according to Sheldon J. Sperling, United States attorney for the eastern district of Oklahoma.

Mullins was sentenced to 72 months in prison with 24 months of supervised release to follow.

“Defendant Mullins had been convicted, on November 5, 2008,” Sperling said. “The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), and the Ardmore Police Department.”

On September 4, 2008 the Ardmore Police Department notified the FBI of a report that Tonia Mullins — along with co-conspirator Regina Hercules, 42, Ada — was looking for a hit man to kill the wife of Michael Andrew Crawford, 26, Ada. Mullins and Crawford intended to buy a house with $250,000 they anticipated collecting from the victim’s life insurance policy, according to Sperling.

“Mullins and Crawford intended to buy a house together with $250,000 they anticipated collecting from the victim’s life insurance policy,” Sperling said.

In a felony information document, it was alleged Mullins and Hercules approached a person to discuss finding a hit man. They later met with an undercover OSBI agent they believed to be a hit man and offered him $5,000 to kill Crawford’s wife.

Crawford reportedly spoke to the agent “hit man” and said he wanted his wife “in the ground” and sent a letter stating he owed the agent $5,000, according to authorities.

Mullins and Hercules allegedly provided the agent with photographs of Crawford’s wife, her car and her apartment so he could locate and identify her for the purpose of murdering her.

Crawford and Hercules have pleaded guilty to the same charges and are awaiting sentences.