South Carolina Man Gets 10 Years For Trying To Hire A Hitman To Lynch His Black Neighbor

Source: Spartanburg County Detention Center

An FBI agent posed as the hitman the man was trying to hire.

A South Carolina man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to hire a hit man to not only kill his black neighbor but hang him from a tree and leave a burning cross in his yard.

READ: South Carolina Man Beat Disabled Black Employee, Made Him Work 100 Hours A Week For Years

In a report from the New York Times, Brandon Cory Lecroy pleaded guilty to a murder-for-hire charge on Friday. The 26-year-old received a maximum 10-year sentence and three years of court-ordered supervision. Lecroy had previously pleaded not guilty, only to withdraw his plea and plead guilty to the murder-for-hire charge.

Lecroy had initially reached out to an unidentified white supremacist organization to get help with the murder, with authorities learning of Lecroy's plan in March 2018.

An FBI agent posing as a hit man contacted Lecroy, with the 26-year-old telling the agent "$500 and he's a ghost" over the phone. After giving the agent an initial payment of $100 he was taken into custody.

Lecroy texting the agent photos of two targets, including the neighbor, as well as provided times when it would have been best to commit the murder. He also asked the agent for a "ghost gun," or an untraceable 9-millimeter gun that had not been stolen. It's unknown what Lecroy planned on using the gun for though.

Source: New York Times