MA Man Sentenced To 8 Years For Murder Plot Hatched With RI Federal Inmate

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Massachusetts man was sentenced to eight years in prison for plotting murders with a federal inmate.

Kareem "Reem" Pires, 27, had pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to tamper with a witness or informant by killing or attempting to kill, in a murder-for-hire plot.

Related: Plea Deal In Murder For Hire Case With RI Federal Inmate

“This sentence sends a clear message that threats and acts of violence against witnesses will be met with serious consequences,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles C. Calenda said in a media release.

“Protecting the integrity of the justice system depends on the willingness of witnesses to come forward and testify without fear of intimidation or retaliation," Calenda said. "Our office and our law enforcement partners remain committed to investigating and prosecuting anyone who seeks to obstruct justice through violence.”

See also: Rhode Island Weekend Starts With Showers Before Skies Turn Sunny

Pires, A Wareham resident, and Elijah "Nice" Melton, 28, who at the time was a prisoner at Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility facing charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl, plotted the murder of witnesses and federal prosecutors, an FBI agent said in an affidavit.

Melton planned to have his cellmate commit the murders, the agent said.

See also: 'Greatest Show On Earth' Returning To Rhode Island

Pires was to provide the cellmate with information and money to carry out the killings, according to the agent, who said the cellmate snitched on Pires and Melton.

In planning the killings, the men used the code names Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus to refer to two federal prosecutors marked for murder, the agent said.

See also: Months-Long Narcotics Probe Leads To Bristol Man's Arrest: Cops

“Harvard Street gang member Kareem Pires’s recent confession to plotting to kill a witness in a federal trial has now landed him behind bars for the next eight years," Ted Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said in the release.

"The FBI was able to foil this cold and calculated plan aimed at subverting the course of justice, thanks to a cooperating witness who worked with us to expose it,” Docks said. “No one involved in the administration of justice should ever be the subject of threats or violence, and the FBI will continue to bring all its resources to bear to disrupt deadly plots like this one.”

See also: East Providence Prowler Pinched: Police