Las Vegas, Nev. - Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada and Grant Ashley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for Nevada, announced that James Leroy Gorman was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for attempting to hire a hit-man to murder his daughter. The sentence was handed down by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Howard D. McKibben following a three-day jury trial last November in Reno.

Gorman was convicted of Using Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of a Murder-For-Hire, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958. Gorman solicited an undercover FBI agent, who he believed was a hit-man, to murder his then 14-year-old daughter. The FBI's investigation lasted for approximately three months, and included numerous taped telephone calls between Gorman and the undercover agent. Gorman indicated that he wanted his daughter murdered in order to avoid child support payments to his former spouse. The solicitation for the murder was secretly captured on videotape, and included tape of Gorman providing $500 cash and title to a motorcycle, and instructions on how to locate his 15-year-old daughter, to the undercover agent. The defendant had endorsed the title to the motorcycle releasing his ownership.

Judge McKibben stated at the sentencing that this was one of the most cold and depraved offenses he had ever seen, and sentenced the defendant to ten years in federal prison, the maximum permitted under the statute, a $5,000 fine, and a three-year period of supervised release. The defendant is in custody and will begin serving the sentence immediately.

The prosecution was the result of a three-month investigation by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Rachow.

Return to Top