Inmate Tries To Hire Hit Man

FAYETTEVILLE -- A Lincoln man, who has been in jail on kidnapping and second-degree sexual assault charges, is facing new charges in connection with a murder-for hire plot to kill the father of a victim and two Gentry court officials.

A cooperating source told deputies Damian Kelley, 21, was trying to hire a hit man from the Washington County Detention Center where he has been held since July 22, according to a news release from the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

An undercover operation was conducted at the detention center and Kelley laid out his plans and agreed to pay the "hit man" $12,000 to kill the father of one of his kidnapped victims, Benton County West District Judge Jeff Conner and Gentry City Attorney Jay Williams, according to the news release.

The new charges against Kelley are three counts of felony conspiracy to commit capital murder.

Kelley's charges of kidnapping and assault are from a July 21 incident. He 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 in a written report.

Kelley pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping and second-degree sexual assault charges on Sept. 5 in Washington County Circuit Court.

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 convicted of misdemeanor false imprisonment and sentenced to a year in jail with six months suspended. He is appealing that conviction, according to news reports.

General News on 09/17/2014