A Texas man in jail on assault charges may face additional charges after an accused killer — and fellow inmate — allegedly attempted to persuade him to kill a witness.
Damen Marcus Henry, 45, was already in the McLennan County Jail on assault and family violence charges when police accused him of additional charges: attempted tampering with a witness and attempted tampering with evidence. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by local CBS affiliate KWTX, Henry was caught passing notes with another inmate, 63-year-old Bobby Doyle Getts, who was in jail after being arrested for murder.
Another inmate passed the notes, which alerted the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office to Getts’ alleged attempt to get Henry out of jail so the younger man could “take care” of a witness in his case.
According to an affidavit obtained by local Fox affiliate KWKT, Getts allegedly wanted a female witness in his murder case killed. One of the notes reportedly said, “Make sure She does not show up to court.” On the back of the note was a map to the witness’s home address. A search of Henry’s belongings revealed a Bible with the witness’s address written on one of its pages.
According to police, the plan called for Getts to post Henry’s $3,000 bond, allowing the younger man to commit the crime. According to the affidavit, Getts told Henry to use “‘paint thinner’ to burn and kill her.”
When officers interviewed Henry, he admitted to knowing where the witness lived and that “Uncle Bobby wanted him to burn up the trailer at this address.” According to Henry, “it was a two-part deal, he wants me to go f—ing talk to her, and he wants me to burn his house down, that’s what he wants.”
A grand jury indicted Getts on a murder charge stemming from Eddie Lee Sanders’ shooting death on March 27. KWTX’s coverage of the case included mentions of a witness who allegedly saw Getts shoot Sanders. It’s unclear whether Getts was allegedly targeting the same witness in the notes he shared with Henry.
Henry faces one count of attempting to tamper with a witness and one count of attempting to tamper with evidence. Getts has not been charged with any crimes related to the alleged jailhouse plot. Both men are still in custody at the McLennan County Jail.
