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Murder plot lands local man in prison By Dani Dodge An Ashland man is serving more than two years in prison for plotting to kill another man in February and trying to get his buddy to help him out. Police and prosecutors say on Feb. 28, Ian Evan Wallin, 20, asked Grover Buckner, also of Ashland, to assist him in killing another Ashland man. The reason Wallin wanted to kill the victim, he told Buckner, was because the victim was trading sex for drugs and Wallin didn�t approve, according to Deputy District Attorney Holly Smith. Wallin also told Buckner that the victim was getting an $80,000 insurance payoff because his house had burned down, Smith said. "(Wallin) was going to wait until the check came through in the mail," Smith said. "He was going to be there when the mail came and snatch it from (the victim�s) hands." But Wallin needed help with his plans, police say. He had fashioned a homemade silencer out of an empty plastic liquor bottle and put it onto a stolen gun. Problem was, the silencer was only good for one shot. "He said (to Buckner) if he shoots the gun with the bottle on it and it doesn�t work, then he has to get another bottle and tape it on, " Smith said. "So he needed Buckner to beat (the victim ) up to keep him down." At first Buckner blew the guy off, thinking he was just joking, said Ashland Detective Lynn Parlette. "It was when there were the school shootings in California," Parlette said. "And there was a bunch of stuff on the news about warning signs. That�s what went into this Grover guy�s mind. Then he reported it to us." Parlette called Buckner "a hero" for revealing Wallin�s plan. "He came forward not for money or anything else," Parlette said. "He just didn�t want this guy killing someone." Buckner declined comment. Parlette, who investigated the case, said Wallin was basically a drifter recently arrived from California. Wallin met up with the victim because they both used drugs, Smith said. When he met Buckner, Wallin thought he could pull off a plan to kill someone he didn�t like and make a few bucks in the bargain. Wallin had been at the victim�s home several times and hadn�t carried out his plan, pointed out Wallin�s attorney Doug Engle. "When he visited he was carrying the gun, but the check hadn�t come in," Parlette said. Then police got a tip Wallin was staying at the Interfaith Care Council of Ashland homeless shelter. Police surrounded the shelter and two officers went in. They found Wallin. He had the stolen gun with the homemade silencer in his bag. He had bullets in his pockets. "He was an angry young man," Parlette said. On Friday, Wallin pleaded guilty to solicitation of murder. Judge Ray White sentenced Wallin to 30 months in prison. Charges of first-degree theft, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm silencer were dismissed. Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.