Foil Murder Plot...

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February 5, 2010

2 Johnson County inmates helped foil murder plot, authorities say

Jailed man allegedly tried to hire another to kill witnesses, families

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Authorities in Johnson County on Thursday credited two county jail inmates with foiling what they called a plot by another inmate to kill as many as 13 people.

The targets in the alleged plot by Jonathan J. Hartman, 30, Indianapolis, included three teenage girls at the Salvation Army worship center in Greenwood, where he was a youth volunteer, the girls' family members, and a baby Hartman believes he fathered.

Hartman has been in jail since April, facing trial on two Class A felony child-molestation charges and four Class B felony charges of misconduct with a minor.

Hartman now faces a Class A felony charge of conspiracy to commit murder, which carries a 20- to 50-year sentence, in an alleged plot to kill the key witnesses in his upcoming trial and some of their family members.

Information on the new charge was released by Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper and Col. Doug Cox, chief deputy of the Sheriff's Department, in a news conference Thursday at department headquarters in Franklin.

In January, an inmate notified authorities that Hartman had approached him. He said Hartman believed he had a lot of money and would put up $50,000 to pay another inmate, nearing release from jail, to kill the witnesses in Hartman's case, according to a prosecutor's charging document.

The inmate Hartman wanted to hire to do the killings was serving time for a probation violation and originally had been convicted of impersonating a public servant, Cooper said.

"He was looking to eliminate three witnesses in three different homes," Cox said. Their family members were to be killed, too, if present at the time, Cox added.

The inmate, who said he believes he was approached to do the killings because Hartman had heard he had prior experience as a bounty hunter, then contacted a detective.

The document said the inmate Hartman chose to be the gunman was outfitted with a device to record Hartman talking about details of the plot, including where to locate the witnesses and where to find a handgun as a down payment to use in the killings. Cox said police traced the gun and took possession of it.

"We appreciate it when inmates are willing to come forward," he said, adding that in this case, the inmates did so without seeking any favors.

As far as an inmate plotting murder, Cox said, "In Johnson County, we're just not going to tolerate this sort of thing."

Cooper said crime-victim advocates have notified the targeted family members of the situation.

When presented with key details from a monthlong investigation by sheriff's and Indiana State Police detectives, Hartman confessed, according to the charging document.

Cooper said the original case against Hartman remains pending in Johnson Superior Court in Franklin, and the new felony charge will be treated as a different case in the same court.

An initial hearing for Hartman in the new case is expected early next week, Cooper said.