HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A Spring man, who was charged in April with trying to hire a hitman to kill his ex-girlfriend, was charged again this week after another alleged attempt to have her murdered, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
While already an inmate in the Harris County Jail, Robert Gordon Letourneau, 59, tried to hire an undercover officer posing as a hitman to kill the woman, according to a charge announced Friday.
“Domestic violence is rampant in our community” Ogg said. “Far too often, people are preyed upon by those who are supposed to be closest to them.”
Letourneau was arrested in January for violating a protective order forbidding him from communicating with his ex-girlfriend.
A magistrate judge then released him on a $2,000 bond and he was re-arrested in March on charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping for ambushing the same woman by hiding in the backseat of her vehicle.
He held a screwdriver to her throat and forced her to withdraw money from several ATMs.
Weeks later, while in the jail, Letourneau tried to hire a fellow inmate to kill the woman. The inmate contacted authorities about the offer, and Letourneau was charged with solicitation of capital murder.
Two months later, another inmate contacted authorities about a second attempt. An undercover officer posing as a hitman for hire met with Letourneau twice in the jail.
During the first meeting, Letourneau offered $5,000 and the contents of a storage locker full of auto parts to carry out the hit.
The undercover officer later returned for a second meeting to show Letourneau a staged photo that appeared to show his ex-girlfriend had been shot.
Letourneau appeared in the 184th state District Court Friday, where he was advised of the new charge. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
