Mid-Missouri man among two convicted of plan to murder immigrants, border agents
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A federal jury on Thursday convicted a Mid-Missouri man and his co-defendant from Tennessee of plotting to travel to the Texas-Mexico border with a plan to murder immigrants and officers.
Jonathan S. O'Dell, 34, of Warsaw, Missouri, and Bryan C. Perry, 39, of Clarksville, Tennessee, were found guilty in a federal court in Jefferson City of conspiracy to murder officers and employees of the U.S. government, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office.
The men planned to travel to Texas to shoot at illegal immigrant crossing the border and to shoot any federal Boder Patrol agents who tried to stop them, according to authorities.
The men were also found guilty of seven counts of attempting to murder FBI agents, seven counts of assaulting FBI agents with a deadly weapon, three counts of assaulting FBI agents, 14 counts of using a gun in a violent crime and one count of damaging federal property.
O'Dell was also found guilty to threatening to injure another person. He also pleaded guilty when the trial started to illegally having a gun while under court order, making a false statement to a federal agent and one count of escaping from custody.
O'Dell escaped the Phelps County Jail in Sept. 23, 2023, and was captured about a week later after a high-speed chase.
The jury also found Perry guilty of two counts of being a felon with a gun, one count of possessing body armor as a violent felon and one count of threatening to injure another person. Perry has a conviction for aggravated robbery already on his record, the release states.
The two used O'Dell's home in Warsaw as a staging site for their plan as they collected guns and other gear, the release says. They also tried to recruit other members through TikTok videos, the federal government says.
In one video, Perry allegedly said that Border Patrol agents were committing treason by letting illegal immigrants into the country and should be punished with death, the release says.
Authorities raided O'Dell's home on Oct. 7, 2022, and Perry shot at them, according to the U.S. attorney. They found six guns, 1,770 rounds of ammunition, two sets of body armor and other gear.
The jury deliberated for about 2 hours and 23 minutes.
Each man is subject to a minimum 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum sentence is life without parole.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled.
