PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A man was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison for a murder-for-hire plot in Portsmouth, the Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said.

Prosecutors say that while in jail on Oct. 18, 2022, Nicholas Louis Ortiz spoke to what he believed to be a “hitman” in an attempt to have two victims killed for their willingness to testify against Ortiz. The alleged “hitman” was an undercover Portsmouth police detective.

Ortiz gave the detective intimate details about the potential victims in order to help orchestrate their murders, prosecutors say.

Nicholas Louis Ortiz (Courtesy – PPD)

Ortiz was found guilty of two counts of solicitation to commit murder for hire and two counts of felony obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with 13 years suspended for the murder-for-hire charges and five years, with five suspended for the felony obstruction charges. All periods of active and suspended time incarcerated are running concurrently.

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