Georgia man sentenced to 35 years behind bars after ordering hit on deputy while in custody
Jonathan Lawrence initially faced methamphetamine possession charges
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Hogansville, Georgia, man was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday after he was found guilty of plotting to hire a hitman to murder a Troup County law enforcement official who was investigating drug charges against him.
On Aug. 25, 2023, a Troup County jury found 31-year-old Jonathan Lawrence guilty of conspiracy to commit malice murder, threatening a witness and trafficking methamphetamine, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
Lawrence was pulled over by police on April 24, 2020, on East Main Street in Hogansville, and during the stop, investigators discovered two ounces of methamphetamine in the car.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jonathan Lawrence booking photo (Troup County Sheriff's Office)
The suspect was arrested after the discovery, and according to officials, he was arrested for methamphetamine possession earlier that year but released on bond because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state attempted to revoke his bond, and Lawrence, authorities said, sent threatening messages to at least two people he believed were assisting with proving he violated his bond conditions.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In July 2020, Lawrence was sent back to jail. While in custody, officials said an inmate told investigators Lawrence ordered a "hit" against a Troup County investigator who testified at the bond hearing.
Jonathan Lawrence was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday. (iStock)
The station reported that officials claimed the suspect took the testimony personally because the investigator lived in the same neighborhood as he did.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Deputies and the inmate worked together to record audio of Lawrence going over diverse ways to kill the drug investigator, and he even reportedly drew a map of the neighborhood he and the drug investigator lived in.
A jury convicted Lawrence of three charges, but acquitted him of one count each of criminal attempt to commit malice murder and threatening a witness. (iStock)
Lawrence and the inmate called an undercover deputy posing as a hitman two days later, when Lawrence provided an associate’s contact information who would provide a down payment for the hit.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I am thankful that this egregious murderous plot was stopped in its infancy," District Attorney John Herbert Cranford Jr. said in a statement. "This Troup County Sheriff’s Office investigator puts his life on the line every day he is on duty, just like every law enforcement officer in this state."
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While the jury convicted Lawrence of three charges, it acquitted him of one count each of criminal attempt to commit malice murder and threatening a witness.