Man in murder-for-hire guilty of lesser charge

1/20/2014
BLADE STAFF

MONROE — A Monroe man initially accused of paying someone to kill his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend is to be sentenced Feb. 20 after pleading guilty to a lesser felony charge.

Thanushan Rajendran, 30, pleaded guilty to solicitation to commit a felony in Monroe County Circuit Court on Jan. 3.

He faces up to two years in prison.

A former gas station manager in Monroe, Rajendran showed security camera footage from the station to an employee last year, identified the intended victim, and paid him $750 to kill the person. The employee instead called police.

Jack Simms, an assistant county prosecutor, said the original charge, solicitation to commit homicide, is to be dismissed at sentencing before Judge Michael Weipert.