Yakima man sentenced for soliciting murder for hire

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A Yakima man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for trying to hire someone to murder his ex-girlfriend and for attempting to pay for the murder with a pound of methamphetamine.

The U.S. Justice Department says 32-year-old Gerardo Maderos Loreto, who is a Norteno gang member, was sentenced Thursday.

According to information disclosed in court, while Loreto was in prison in 2016 for violating a protective order related to his ex-girlfriend, he continued to violate the no contact order and contacted her more when he learned she was pregnant by another man.

Court documents say Yakima detectives then obtained a letter from Loreto to a person with information about the ex-girlfriend, why he wanted her murdered and that he would pay for the act with meth.