A white South Carolina man has been sentenced to 10 years inside a federal prison for hiring someone to lynch his black neighbor and place a burning cross on the lawn.
According to the New York Times, Brandon Cory Lecroy, 26 (pictured above) was arrested last year after the FBI received a tip about his plans. Lecroy reportedly contacted an unidentified white supremacist organization to assist with the murder-for-hire but instead was approached by an undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman.
The agent reportedly told Lecroy over the phone “$500 and he’s a ghost.” According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Lecroy made a down payment of $100 and was then taken into custody.
The South Carolina United States attorney’s office said Lecroy received the maximum sentence on Friday (April 12) after pleading guilty, as well as three years supervision.
In March 2018, Lecroy went as far as texting an image of the intended targets to the FBI agent and offering the best possible times for the murder. His motive for the murder was to control his neighbor’s property. Lecroy also suggested the agent use an “a ghost gun,” or an untraceable 9mm.
The names of the intended victim or the FBI agent have not been released.