People v. Nelson

Defendant Eric Scott Nelson was going through a contentious divorce. After his friend Laura Tatarzyn mentioned getting a hit man to kill her boyfriend, defendant started talking to her — seemingly seriously — about having the same hit man kill his wife. He said to Tatarzyn, “You should ask for a two-for-one deal.” Tatarzyn told defendant’s wife, who told the police.

Juan Anguiano, an undercover officer, contacted defendant and pretended to be the hit man. He asked, “[Y]ou have a job for me[,] right?” Defendant said, “Yes.” They agreed to meet at a Walmart in two days. At Anguiano’s request, defendant agreed to bring a photograph, an address, and $300. Meanwhile, however, defendant’s girlfriend learned that he was planning to have his wife killed. She threatened to leave him if he went through with it, and he did not go to the meeting.

Nevertheless, defendant was arrested for solicitation of murder. While he was in jail, he phoned his wife, in violation of a restraining order. He also phoned his girlfriend and tried to talk her into recanting her statements incriminating him.

The charges against defendant and the outcome of those charges were as follows:

*491 Defendant…