SAN ANTONIO - A murder-for-hire plot with a Bexar County Judge as the target. The plot's been foiled and the judge is safe.
All of the suspects involved in the plot to kill the judge are behind bars. But the judge tells News 4 San Antonio’s Brian Collister, the threat was very real.
“It's part of the job on one hand, but on the other hand, I’m not happy about it at all, says 144th District Court Judge Angus McGinty.
A defendant in his court already charged with murder, which McGinty ordered held without bond because he tried to escape, paid a fellow inmate 2-thousand dollars to take the judge off the case - permanently.
“He was upset he was remanded without bond and from what i was told, he asked someone to kill me, so he wouldn't have to deal with me, says McGinty.
A jail informant overhead the plot, and his lawyer informed authorities hoping his client could get a better deal by cooperating.
“I do my job professionally, without malice towards anyone. But when I was informed of that, i took it very personally,” says the Judge. “It was no longer something you read about, but something that was happening to me.”
The judge learned about the threat on February 6th - less than a week after an assistant district attorney in Kaufman County was gunned down.
As soon Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau was notified of the threat against McGinty, it provided the judge 24-hour a day security until the alleged hitman was picked up and back in jail.
“When Judge McGinty was threatened, we took that seriously and took immediate action to make sure he was protected,” says Pamerleau. “And we will do the same in any case as it involves our judges and people involved in our judicial system.”
And to make sure there is no longer a threat, we've been asked not to name the suspects in this case.
“I'm glad it’s no longer a threat and I hope they're prosecuted,” says McGinty. “And I'm going to participate in that prosecution. Whatever they need.”
