Arrested behind bars

Thursday, August 4, 2005

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The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that a murder plot targeting a Bay area deputy has been foiled.

The sheriff's office said it arrested Kevin Snow, 18, on 12 felony burglary charges in February. Then he started making threats against the arresting officer, Deputy Heather Mundell, so that she couldn't testify against him.

"And he asked her if she was afraid and she indicated that no, she wasn't afraid," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "And he said, 'Well you should be.' "

The sheriff's office said Snow offered a fellow Polk County inmate $5,000 to kill Mundell in May, but the inmate told authorities.

Snow later spoke on the jail phone with his girlfriend and mother about his plans and for months, Mundell had to live with the fear that Snow wanted her killed.

"It was a scary feeling, but also gave me resolve because it made me more aware of my surroundings," said Mundell. "I was very careful of where I went."

Mundell said it was scary knowing someone wanted to kill her.

The sheriff's office said Snow eventually contacted an undercover sheriff's deputy about killing Mundell. That gave deputies enough evidence to charge Snow Thursday with solicitation to commit first-degree murder.

"Kevin Snow was originally facing 10 years in prison," said Judd. "He can tack 30 years onto that now."

Judd said the sheriff's office is continuing to investigate the roles that Snow's girlfriend and mother may have had in the plot.

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• The next 'Hyde Park' of Lakeland
• Detention deputy accused of selling Oxycontin
• Suspect in deadly Polk County rampage to defend himself
• Colleges ditching lunch trays, helping the environment
• Polk churches lend hand to charter school

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