Texas inmate accidentally hires sheriff as hitman

A Texas man already in jail for assaulting his wife could now spend life in prison for allegedly attempting to hire a local sheriff to kill her.

KXAS-TV reported on Thursday that 53-year-old Tab Denny Johnson was indicted on March 7 on two counts of solicitation of capital murder after unwittingly enlisting the services of Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford.

According to The Dallas Morning News, Court documents revealed that Johnson had been asking fellow inmates in Johnson County Jail to kill his wife, Barbara Johnson, and her boyfriend.

One inmate then told a sheriff's deputy, leading to a sting operation where Alford passed himself off as a hitman over the course of four phone conversations with Johnson.

"We negotiated everything over the phone," Alford told the Burleson Star. "He probably would not know me if he saw me."

According to court documents, Johnson promised Alford $8,000 for one murder and $10,000 for both, as well as two all-terrain vehicles and a boat to be used as collateral until payment. Johnson also allegedly provided Alford with a note telling him where to find his wife.

Johnson, who was being held on a $100,000 bond from his previous charges, is now being held on a $500,000 bond. The new charges against him carry a sentence of 5 years to life in prison.

Watch KXAS' report on Johnson's alleged plot, aired Thursday, below.

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