Independence teen gets probation in murder-for-hire plot

INDEPENDENCE — An Independence teenager got two years' probation for introducing his high-school classmate to two would-be hit men.

The sentence 18-year-old Joseph Garcia received Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court is the same one imposed last month against 19-year-old Jacob Jett.

Prosecutors say Jett gave the would-be hit men $260 and three handguns to kill his parents because he thought they were too strict and he wanted to inherit their money.

The plot came to light after one of the would-be hit men was picked up for a parole violation. Prosecutors have said they didn't believe the men intended to commit the murders.

Garcia pleaded guilty in October to two counts of attempted second-degree murder.

His attorney, Gabriel Domjan, says, "The outcome of this case rested a lot on the parents' understanding and forgiveness of their son and my client."