A man convicted last month of trying to recruit a hit man to kill the prosecutor who helped get him convicted of sexually assaulting a child has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Cook County Judge Joan O’Brien found 31-year-old Edward Carreon of Chicago guilty on Feb. 26 of solicitation of murder for hire, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. She handed down the sentence on Monday.
The judge described Carreon’s actions as “chilling,” according to a statement from prosecutors.
The Cook County sheriff’s office got information in February 2013 that Carreon had discussed with a fellow Cook County Jail inmate that he wanted to hire someone to murder the female prosecutor who handled his case, prosecutors said.
At the time, Carreon was awaiting sentencing for the 2011 predatory criminal sexual assault of a 12-year-old, prosecutors said. He was convicted of sexually assaulting the child several times and, after the victim turned 13, trying to convince the child it was a consensual sexual relationship.
On Feb. 13, 2013, Carreon placed a call from jail to someone he thought he could hire for the killing, prosecutors said. The individual was actually an undercover officer who later visited Carreon at the jail. That’s when Carreon said he would pay $25,000 to kill the prosecutor.
Carreon later wrote a letter to the undercover officer, containing a physical description of the prosecutor, as well as the courtroom and date of sentencing in his sexual assault case, the statement said.
In the letter, Carreon wrote “two to the head is what I want,” prosecutors said.
On Feb. 21, the undercover officer again visited Carreon and had him identify a picture of the prosecutor to “finalize” the deal, prosecutors said.
Carreon, who is already serving a 25-year prison sentence for the sexual assault, faces up to 40 years for the solicitation charge, prosecutors said. He was previously convicted of misdemeanors, including two convictions for domestic battery for assaulting his children’s mother.
