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Man sentenced in Iowa for 2 murder-for-hire counts

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July 23rd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A man already in federal prison on gun convictions has been sentenced to another 20 years for trying to hire a hitman from behind bars to kill two northeastern Iowa people. Federal prosecutors say 45-year-old Jason Harriman was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Harriman was convicted in January of two counts of murder-for-hire. Prosecutors say Harriman began serving a 15-year federal sentence in 2011 on gun charges and made multiple phone and email contacts from prison with someone he thought was a hired killer. The person was actually an undercover federal agent.

Investigators say Harriman met with the agent in prison and agreed to pay the “hitman” $21,000 for the murder of two people — even signing a contract.