Las Vegas man pleads guilty to paying undercover officer in murder-for-hire plot
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man has pleaded guilty to paying an undercover police officer to kill a man he suspected was having an affair with his wife, according to documents.
Mario Valdez, 45, was initially charged last summer with solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit kidnapping or arson, records showed. Documents filed April 16 indicate Valdez agreed to plea guilty to the charge of solicitation to commit murder.
As part of the deal, prosecutors will not argue for a sentence, though a judge could sentence Valdez to a minimum of two years and a maximum of 15 years in prison.
On Aug. 16, a Metro police detective received information from a confidential informant about a person, later identified as Valdez, who allegedly was offering money for another person to be kidnapped and murdered, documents said.
The confidential informant told the detective Valdez is a local contractor and “wanted [a man] murdered due to an alleged affair between Valdez’s wife and [the man],” documents said. The man’s name is redacted in the documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained last year.
Later on Aug. 16, an undercover officer met with Valdez and offered to kill the man for a fee, documents said.
“Valdez explained he wanted the victim interrogated and killed due to an affair he had with his wife,” police said. “Valdez gave instructions that during the interrogation, he would like the victim to answer questions related to a chain/piece of jewelry, what his plans were with an associate named [redacted], and if he had sex with his wife.”
Valdez then allegedly told the undercover officer that the victim “would need to be truthful” because he had located his family in Mexico, documents said. He also told the undercover officer to threaten to cut off the victim’s son’s genitals to get him to talk, police said.
“The [undercover officer] asked specifically how he wanted the murder to happen and if he wanted him to cut off one of the victim’s ears to give to Valdez as a keepsake,” documents said. “Valdez replied he would like an ear but would not want to be contacted during the act due to concern of it being traced, meaning the murder could be tracked back to Valdez.”
Valdez agreed to pay the undercover officer $4,000 in cash and then an additional $2,000 at a later date, police said. Valdez then allegedly texted the undercover agent a picture of his target.
On Aug. 22, police interviewed the intended target who said Valdez was his former employer, documents said. The man told police he was no longer in the United States and was worried about his safety.
Also on Aug. 22, Valdez texted the undercover officer and asked for a meeting, documents said. Valdez once again showed the undercover officer a photo of the intended target and gave him $1,000, police said.
Valdez later told the undercover officer he wanted a second man murdered and he wanted “the homicide to look like a robbery gone wrong,” police said. There was no indication in police documents as to why Valdez wanted the second man murdered.
The conversation then turned back to the first target with Valdez allegedly telling the undercover officer he wanted the murder recorded, police said. The undercover officer then told Valdez the murder would occur the next day, Aug. 23, documents said.
Police arrested Valdez on Aug. 23, records showed. Judge Susan Johnson was scheduled to sentence Valdez on July 16.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
