Murder-for-hire plot nets 16-year sentence

STAUNTON — A judge Tuesday sentenced a Stuarts Draft man to 16 years in prison for trying to hire a hitman to kill his ex-wife and her boyfriend.

Thomas J. Laguardia Sr., 58, sat hunched in an Augusta County courtroom, staring mostly expressionless into the floor. Next to him, public defenders Peter Boatner and Duane Barron argued that their client was a broken man, defeated by a 2007 stroke and driven to extremes in the aftermath.

“He comes here today ... with virtually no prior record,” Boatner argued. “It’s following [the stroke] that we have this bizarre behavior. He’s unable to reconcile the life he’s living now with the life he was living before.”

Authorities said Laguardia vigorously sought a “hitman” to murder Kerry Egnor, who works as an Augusta County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court clerk, and her fiancé, Frank Kemo.

A confidential informant tipped authorities Jan. 30, 2009, to Laguardia. Through the informant, authorities passed a phone number to Laguardia, who called and arranged a meeting.

Disguised as a hitman, Augusta County Sheriff’s Office Inv. Aaron LeVeck said he met with Laguardia twice to discuss the plot. During the second meeting, Laguardia entered LeVeck’s car in a Burger King parking lot in Verona, according to court records. Laguardia proceeded to describe how he wanted his ex-wife and her fiancé killed, LeVeck said.

Laguardia provided handwritten information about addresses and license plates, authorities said.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Laguardia on murder-for-hire charges after the second meeting.

Assistant Attorney General Phil Figura rejected defense attorneys’ efforts to stir sympathy for Laguardia.

“He’s a manipulator, and now he’s trying to use a stroke to manipulate the system,” Figura said.

In addition to a 20-year prison sentence, Figura asked Circuit Judge Humes J. Franklin to fine Laguardia more than $100,000.

“It’s important to the victim,” the prosecutor said. “Mr. Laguardia used his resources to try and hire that hitman. He should have his resources taken away.”

Defense attorneys suggested a sentence of no more than five years.

“This is not a man of huge resources,” Boatner said. “This is not a career criminal who’s trying to remove people. He was no longer able to see how his words or his actions would be perceived on the outside.”

In addition to the prison time, Franklin sentenced Laguardia to 30 years of supervised probation upon release. Following the hearing, Laguardia was transported to Middle River Regional Jail in Verona.