WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |Baxter man receives 325-year prison sentence

Baxter man receives 325-year prison sentence

BAXTER, Tenn. - A Putnam County man was sentenced to 325 years in prison Tuesday for soliciting the murders of a Putnam County sheriff's deputy, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and an informant.

William Vincent Dunn, 34, of Baxter, was found guilty on all counts of a 21-count indictment, including the solicitation to murder law enforcement officers and an informant, in November 2008.

Proof at trial revealed that Dunn and his girlfriend, Misty Langford, had been selling cocaine and marijuana to an undercover Putnam County sheriff's deputy and a confidential informant.

Through discovery proceedings after their arrests, Dunn and Langford learned the true identity of the confidential informant and the undercover sheriff's deputy.

The informant subsequently died from a drug overdose and Dunn and Langford determined that, if the undercover sheriff's deputy died, there would be no other witnesses to testify against them.

As part of the investigation into the initial murder plot, another confidential informant introduced an undercover ATF agent to Langford and Dunn as the purported "hit man."

Dunn agreed to pay $15,000 to the "hit man" for the murder of the undercover sheriff's deputy and provided the "hit man" $300 and approximately 15 grams in cocaine as a down payment.

Dunn and Langford were arrested later that day.

While in federal custody awaiting trial, Dunn learned the identity of the undercover ATF agent and the second confidential informant.

Dunn then initiated another plan to have the sheriff's deputy, the undercover ATF agent, and the confidential informant murdered.

He solicited a cellmate to commit the murders, promising him drugs and cash as payment.

Dunn orchestrated the second murder plot through a series of letters from prison.

In December 2008, Misty Langford pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit murder for hire and was sentenced to 75 months imprisonment.

"I am elated with the sentencing," Putnam County Sheriff David Andrews told News 2 Tuesday.  "He was determined to be selling drugs and was a detriment to our community and to Putnam County.  We caught him and then he tried to put out a contract on my deputy and an agent.  He got exactly what he deserved.  I am also elated with my officer's and detectives work on this case and deeply appreciate cooperation of the federal agencies which worked with us."