Man accused of offering $5, pills for hit

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- An Independence man is accused of offering an undercover officer $5 and 90 pills of the painkiller OxyContin to kill a woman.

Thirty-five-year-old Robert Macklin faces one count of first-degree assault or one count of the alternative charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He was charged Wednesday in Jackson County Circuit Court in Independence.

According to court documents, Macklin's roommate called police after he repeatedly asked her to kill the girlfriend of a man with whom he once had a relationship. The roommate said Macklin wanted the girlfriend out of the way so the men could be together.

Macklin was arrested Tuesday night after he reportedly gave the officer $5 as a down payment.

Prosecutors have requested a $500,000 bond.