A 62-year-old wheelchair-bound man was arrested after he tried to hire a former US Marine to kill his ex-girlfriend because she was dating a black man. Although the arrest was made last year in October, a shocking clip of his exchange has surfaced showing him talking about arranging a hit on the woman. The man, identified as Keith Cote who was left paralyzed in 2013, was arrested after the hitman he hired to murder SanDee Jones alerted the authorities about Cote and worked with them to expose the 62-year-old's plans.
The former marine, Joey Sees, while talking to the police said that he was with his wife at Cote's house in Austin last year when he mentioned the murder plan to him first. Cote reportedly told Sees that he needed a "dirty deed, done dirt cheap," according to KXAN.
Cote reportedly also asked Sees if he could get a silencer and 1.9mm handgun and also offered him $10,000 in cash to kill Jones and an additional amount of $15,000 to "watch him put a bullet in her head. Cote had reportedly told Sees that he would be perfect for the job because he knew he had killed before considering his career as a Marine.
"When we're in a warzone, we're just trying to get home and we're just protecting each other. I guess he thought every Marine is a hitman," Sees said. "We're not killers. We just do our job, but our job isn't to come home and murder someone because she's dating a black guy."
Reports state that Sees agreed to help Cote because he feared that if he refused, the 62-year-old would just hire someone else to murder Jones. Shortly after agreeing for the hit, Sees alerted the authorities and agreed to wear a wire and secretly filmed his interaction with Cote.
Cote, in the clip, can be heard advising Sees to sneak up on Jones after she leaves from work and also pointed out the location where she generally parked her car. He also told Sees that there were no surveillance cameras around her parking spot. "I would say just stay along the perimeter," Cote said as he explained how Sees should approach. "It's dark and you're a ninja."
Cote had reportedly also asked Sees if he could ride in the back of the truck on the night of the planned murder so that he could witness the crime unfolding himself. He told Sees to walk up to Jones' car, tap on the window and then shoot her in the head twice.
Texas man Keith Cote kills himself after hiring Marine Joey Sees to kill ex-girlfriend who was "dating a black guy." VIDEO: bit.ly/2z5lHau
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Cote can be heard saying it "ain't about revenge, it's about the reckoning" in the video. The 62-year-old, who was arrested pleaded not guilty to the crime and was eventually released on bond in September. Cote took his own life a week later. Jones later thanked the Marine for saving his life and said: "He's a hero, not only for our country, but for me. What Joey did is about nothing except love. That's the greatest and he didn't even know me. Not everyone would do what Joey did."
