OKC Man In Court For Allegedly Plotting Girlfriend's Murder

The man accused of trying to hire someone to kill his pregnant girlfriend with ricin goes before a judge to face his four felony charges.

This was the first time anyone got to see and hear from Preston Rhoads since he was arrested. While the judge read the charges, Rhoads followed along - reading the court document in front of him.

He appeared pensive as the judge told him he faced two counts of solicitation of murder,

and two counts of attempting to kill another.

The 30-year-old has no prior criminal history and has only been pulled over for traffic tickets in the past.

Both federal and court documents state Rhoads invited a former coworker to his home on April 9, and asked him to kill the girlfriend and unborn child with ricin he claimed he made. It states he even offered that former coworker a sum of money to do it.

Court documents state Rhoads had several scenarios to facilitate the poisoning, including placing the ricin in a soft drink or sprinkling the ricin on a pizza,

and offering money to the coworker so he would pose as a pizza delivery guy.

That coworker refused to do it, and then tipped off local and federal authorities, who then raided Rhoads home and arrested him on April 17.

For now Preston Rhoads is being held at the Oklahoma County Jail without bond. He told the judge "thank you" as he was excused to go.

Rhoads next court appearance is set for May 15.

4/25/2014 Related Story: Charges Filed Against Suspect In Murder Plot Investigation

News 9 has learned local Oklahoma City attorney John Coyle is representing Rhoads. Coyle has represented several high profile clients in the past, including Oklahoma City bomber Tim McVeigh, and OSU basketball player Darrell Williams.