FAYETTEVILLE -- A Lincoln man in jail since July faces charges in connection with a murder-for-hire plot to kill the father of a victim and two Gentry court officials.
Damian Kelley, 21, of 169 Chestnut Circle was trying to hire a hit man from the Washington County Detention Center where he has been held since July 22, police said. He pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and second-degree sexual assault charges Friday in Washington County Circuit Court.
The new charges are three counts of felony conspiracy to commit capital murder, according to a news release from Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder.
In an undercover operation at the jail, Kelley believed he was meeting with a hit man, according to the news release. He laid out his plans and agreed to pay the man $12,000 to kill the father of one of his victims, Benton County West District Judge Jeff Conner and Gentry City Attorney Jay Williams.
Conner said he was notified last week about the case, adding he didn't think it would be appropriate for him to comment.
"I was hoping it would fly under the radar," Conner said.
Courtroom security is taken very seriously not only for the safety of judges, but also for the safety of the staff and people in court, Conner said.
Williams said he learned today of the charges being filed against Kelley.
"I don't have any comment on him wanting me dead," Williams said. "I guess he's welcome to want to kill me."
Williams said he properly prosecuted the case against Kelley a year ago in Gentry and fulfilled his role as prosecutor.
The information about the plot came from a cooperating source, according to the news release.
Kelley's charges of kidnapping and assault are from a July 22 incident. Kelley pulled a 15-year-old girl and a 9-year-old girl into a ditch in the 1200 block of Maple Lane in Lincoln, according to court records. He bound their wrists and ankles with duct tape and shoved socks in their mouths. The older girl told police Kelley showed her a picture of a sex act and wanted her to perform the act on him. The girls were found by the younger girl's brother.
Police found a roll of black duct tape, pieces of used duct tape and a bag of socks at the scene. Kelley denied being in the ditch with the girls, police said.
Kelley was arrested last year in Gentry in connection with taping a girl's feet and arms. He didn't harm the girl. He was charged with misdemeanor false imprisonment and sentenced to a year in jail with six months suspended. He is appealing that conviction and has a hearing scheduled Monday before Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green.
NW News on 09/11/2014