By RUSSELL CONTRERAS
Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - An imprisoned man whose infatuation with
Justin Bieber included a tattoo of the pop star on his leg has told
investigators in New Mexico he hatched a plot to kill the singer,
according to documents recently filed in a New Mexico court.
An affidavit filed in Las Cruces said Dana Martin told investigators
he persuaded a man he met in prison and the man's nephew to kill Bieber,
along with Bieber's personal bodyguard and two others not connected to
the pop star.
The plot contained several gruesome details. Investigators say the
plotters wanted to castrate two of the victims with hedge clippers
before traveling to New York City to find Bieber. The targets of the
castration plot were not connected to Bieber, authorities say, and it
doesn't appear that the pop singer was ever in immediate danger of
falling victim to the plot.
Martin, a Vermont man who is serving two life sentences for the 2000
killing of a 15-year-old girl, said he was angry at Bieber because he
didn't respond to any of his letters. "This perceived slight made Mr.
Martin upset and that, coupled with Mr. Martin's perception of being a
'nobody' in prison, led him to begin plotting the kidnap and murder of
Victim 3," court documents said.
The documents identified Victim 3 as "J.B.," which New Mexico State
Police spokesman Lt. Robert McDonald later confirmed was Justin Bieber.
Martin told investigators that Mark Staake and Tanner D. Ruane headed
from New Mexico to the East Coast, planning to be near a Bieber concert
scheduled in New York City after killing and castrating two others. But
authorities say they missed a turn and crossed into Canada from
Vermont. Staake was arrested on an outstanding warrant. Ruane was
arrested later.
Court documents say Martin told investigators that Bieber was the
"ultimate target." No one was killed in the alleged elaborate plot.
New York State Police said Thursday that troopers recovered tools and
documents associated with the conspiracy while during a search warrant
on Ruane's vehicle. Among the items found by troopers were a
"hand-written drawing of a depiction of Justin Bieber" and documents
about the intended victims in Vermont.
Staake, 41, of Albuquerque, has been charged with two counts each of
conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit
aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in connection to the plan.
Ruane, 23, Staake's nephew, also is facing multiple charges related to the plot.
Clinton Norris, of the New Mexico State Police investigations bureau
in Las Cruces, said in an affidavit that Martin instructed the suspects
to strangle the two first intended targets with paisley neckties, the
same kind used in his 2000 murder case. The documents do not give
details on how they were to kill Bieber.
McDonald declined to say if any of the murder charges are linked to
Bieber. "That is part of the ongoing investigation," he said.
Bieber's management issued a statement that said, "we take every
precaution to protect and insure the safety of Justin and his fans."
It was not immediately known if the suspects had lawyers.
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Dana Martin
Tanner D. Ruane
