Pop star Justin Bieber was the target of a murder plot that strings across the United States. A Vermont man being held in prison in New Mexico hired two people to kill two Vermonters as well as Justin Bieber and his body guard, according to an affidavit.
Dana Martin, 45, was sentenced to over 900 years in prison for raping and killing a 15 year old Barre, VT girl in 2000. He's serving that time in a New Mexico prison. That's where he met Mark Staake, 41, and Staake's 23-year-old nephew, Tanner Ruane.
Martin sent Staake and Ruane to kill two Vermonters who witnessed his crime back in 2000. But Martin also has an obsession with Justin Bieber. He even has an image of Bieber tattooed to his leg, according to police. After his attempts to contact the 18-year-old pop star failed, he hatched a plot to kill him and his bodyguard.
Staake and Ruane were supposed to head to Madison Square Garden in New York City for Bieber's sold out concert on November 28, but they were arrested in Vermont before they could carry out the plot.
Martin wanted Staake and Ruane to attack the victims with gardening clippers and, according to the affidavit, even offered to pay them for the hit.
The pair were arrested after they missed a highway exit in Vermont near the Canadian border and were stopped by a border patrol agent. Staake was arrested for outstanding warrants, while Ruane was released. But he was picked up later after officials overheard a phone call between him and Martin.
