Baltimore man sentenced to 20 years for plot to kill man with help of ex-police officer

A Baltimore man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a plot to kill a man with the help of his estranged wife and a former City Police officer, the State's Attorney's Office for Frederick County said.

Alonzo Michael Epps Jr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, according to court officials. He was also ordered to serve five years of probation after his release from jail. 

WJZ has reached out to Epps' attorney for comment. 

On Jan. 10, 2024, Frederick County Sheriff's deputies were called to the 8200 block of Crum Road in Walkersville for a reported suspicious vehicle in a field. The caller said the vehicle had been in the location with its flashers on for several hours. 

Deputies arrived to find the vehicle off the roadway with mud and blood on the outside, according to court records. The vehicle was registered to Brice Wendell Boots, 66, of Pikesville.

Boots was found dead inside the car with multiple injuries, officials said. 

Maryland murder investigation 

When sheriff's officials went to Boots' home to find his next of kin, they learned from neighbors that his estranged wife, Frances Virginia Hamilton, was seen at the home on the previous evening, according to court records.  

A neighbor told deputies that two men were seen with Hamilton, believed to be her nephews. One of the men was determined to be Epps, and the other was identified as Keon Wilson-Hawkins, court records say. 

Detectives learned that Boots and Hamilton were going through a divorce and that Boots had previously expressed fear for his safety from Hamilton, according to court records.

During a search of Boots' home, officials found evidence of a physical altercation in the home. The evidence showed that Boots was forcibly abducted, court records show. The State Medical Examiner ruled Boots' death a homicide. 

Phone records reveal murder plot 

Officials reviewed phone records, which showed that Boots, Hamilton, and Wilson-Hawkins were at Boots' home on Jan. 9, 2024, until the early hours of Jan. 10, according to court records. 

Boots' and Wilson-Hawkins' cellphone records revealed that they left the home around 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2024, and traveled on I-70 toward Frederick. 

Both Boots' and Wilson-Hawkins' devices arrived at Crum Road around 6:20 a.m., court records show. Then Wilson-Hawkins' device left the area around 6:30 a.m. and went back to his home in Baltimore. 

According to court records, Wilson-Hawkins' DNA was found on a bloody glove recovered from the scene on Crum Road. 

Reaching resolution 

Wilson-Hawkins was found guilty of murder, kidnapping, and carjacking in July 2025. He was sentenced to 85 years in prison, court officials said. 

Hamilton committed suicide on Feb. 24, 2024, in Anne Arundel County before he was arrested, according to court officials. 

The evidence against Epps indicated that he was a willing participant in Boots' assault at his home, and that he agreed to help carry out the murder, court records say. 

"Alonzo Epps made a deliberate choice to participate in a violent and calculated conspiracy that began with an assault in the victim's home and ended in his death," said State's Attorney Charlie Smith.