HOUSTON – A Cypress man is accused of trying to hire someone for $50,000 to kill his wife.
Jeffery Basey is charged with solicitation of capital murder. The Harris County District Attorney's Office said Basey put the hit out on his wife while he was in jail, because she was a witness to an indecency with a child case.
He was already in jail on that charge when the DA's Office said he tried to hire a person, who turned out to be an undercover officer, to kill his wife.
Basey, 68, is being held without bond.
When neighbor Ray Teneyuque saw police arrest Basey a few months ago, he had no clue how much legal trouble he was in.
"We were just going to the store. We just saw him get in the patrol car and they took him away. I grew up here. I've known them for 18, 19 years," Teneyuque said.
Basey was charged with three counts of indecency with a child in September 2014.
According to court documents, back in September, four days before those charges were filed, Basey was accused of violating his wife's protective order.
It was issued after Basey was charged with deadly conduct. His wife claimed that on Aug. 25, 2014, she woke up and saw her husband standing near the end of the bed pointing a .38-caliber revolver at her. She told police while the gun was pointed at her, she heard the gun cock back.
Basey's wife told police her husband said he couldn't live without her and didn't want a divorce. Basey is due back in court on Thursday.