NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) - An Iowa man charged in a murder-for-hire scheme now faces accusations of trying to hire someone to kill a state agent and two other witnesses who were expected to testify against him.
Authorities said Justin DeWitt, 36, was charged Thursday with three new counts of attempted murder. A court document said DeWitt met in Muscatine County Jail with an undercover state agent earlier this month whom he thought knew a hit man. The document said DeWitt agreed to pay $25,000 to have an Iowa Public Safety Department agent and two other people killed before his Jan. 17 trial in the first case.
According to the court documents, DeWitt contacted a third party on Dec. 20, asking them to mail a check to the undercover agent as a down payment for the planned murder. One week later, DeWitt admitted to officials he attempted to hire a hit man to kill three people.
The North Liberty man previously pleaded not guilty to four counts of attempted murder and four counts of solicitation to commit murder. Authorities said that in the first case DeWitt was originally arrested for in June, he wanted a business associate and the associate’s family killed, including two children ages 2 and 4. DeWitt was the president of Lawn and Landscaping Solutions, Inc. at the time.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9. DeWitt is currently being held in Muscatine County Jail.
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