PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for trying to hire a hitman to kill two witnesses who were going to testify in another case in Portsmouth.
Nicholas Ortiz was found guilty earlier this year on two counts of solicitation to commit murder for hire and two counts of felony obstruction of justice.
According to the Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, on October 18, 2022, an undercover operation was conducted where Ortiz spoke to a person that he thought to be a "hitman" via a jail call. Prosecutors said Ortiz wanted to have two victims killed because they were testifying against him in upcoming cases.
Unknown to Ortiz, he was speaking to an undercover Portsmouth police detective. In the conversation, Ortiz gave intimate details about the potential victims to help orchestrate their murders, prosecutors said.
Ortiz was sentenced to 25 years in prison with 13 years suspended on each murder-for-hire count, and five years with all five suspended for each obstruction of justice charge, bringing the total time served to 12 years.
The suspended time is contingent on five years of supervised probation with the special condition that he has no contact with either victim.
