VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The man accused of saying he would kill a Virginia Beach police officer has pleaded guilty to an obstruction of justice charge.
Justin Cafferty was originally charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder, but that charge was lowered. As part of a plea deal, Cafferty was sentenced to one year in prison.
Cafferty pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of obstruction of justice.
Cafferty was arrested following a phone conversation he had with his girlfriend, Stephanie Russell, who was in jail after being arrested for her third DUI. He said he was joking when he told her, “I’m guessing I will have to just kill the officer and make him disappear so there are no charges.”
Russell was locked up. Neither she nor Cafferty knew jail staff were recording phone calls.
“He is very very remorseful for everything that has happened,” said attorney James Broccoletti.
Cafferty told 10 On Your Side in May he said something he shouldn’t have.
“I told her on the phone that I will just have to kill the officer and make him disappear so there are no charges as a complete joke,” Cafferty said.
Both Russell and Cafferty were charged with conspiracy to the kill the officer who not only arrested Russell on the third DUI, but also her second.
“Conspiracy by definition is a plan of action on how to commit a murder,” Cafferty added. “I said five words. One sentence.”
Prosecutors say there were actually several calls in which Russell and Cafferty talked about a place and time it would happen.
Cafferty’s attorney says the conversations were stupid.
“He never had any intent to harm the officer,” Broccoletti said. “He never had any intent to track the officer down. He never had any intent at all to follow through with any of that.”
Cafferty also isn’t able to have any contact with the officer or his family for two years. His attorney says it was the right call, because Cafferty could be released from jail right away due to time already served.
“The risk of going forward with trial one never knows what the outcome will be,” Broccoletti added. “Even though we were confident how the case itself would resolve and confident in his innocence he didn’t want to take the risk with going forward with that.”
Russell is due back in court on Nov. 28.