UPDATE: TYLER (KYTX) -- An affidavit filed in support of the arrest of 32-year-old Chip Owens details nearly a month's worth of interactions with a confidential informant that ultimately lead to Owens' arrest.
On Friday Owens was charged with "criminal solicitation" for allegedly conspiring to have a hit-man kill his pregnant wife and a man he believed to be her lover.
The confidential informant (CI), identified only as a former marine employed at Owens' father's auto shop, told Tyler police detectives that Owens had approached him sometime around September of 2014 about killing his wife Andrea.
According to the documents, Chip was having an affair with a woman named Cat who wanted him leave his wife so she could have him "for herself." Chip was allegedly fearful that simply divorcing Andrea would leave her in a position to "brain wash his son."
According to the CI, Chip became interested after the CI showed him photos of people he had killed during his time in Iraq. Chip allegedly responded by saying "[you] wouldn't have a problem killing another person then."
From that point, the CI told police that Chip began pressuring him about killing Andrea. Ultimately, the CI checked himself into a behavioral health unit at UT Health Northeast and went to the police with evidence like text messages and a 9mm handgun Chip had allegedly provided to aid in the murder.
By that time, the CI said, Chip had given the crime a code name of "Operation Zebra."
Chip allegedly concocted a plan under which he would either remove or unload the guns inside the home he shared with Andrea and then send in the CI, masking Andrea's death as a home invasion. The CI deemed an initial offer of $1,000 for the killing to be too low, so Chip allegedly told him to steal Andrea's $20,000 ring off her finger to be sold. The CI said he/she and Chip were to split the proceeds from the sale.
Eventually, Chip allegedly discovered that Andrea was having an affair of her own with an oil field worker named Larry Day.
The CI said Chip decided he wanted Day dead too and that Chip provided a photo of the man and the location of his home in the Whitehouse/Mixon area.
Beginning on November 21, the CI was actively working with police to prove Chip's alleged complicity in the plot. On numerous occasions, the CI wore audio and video recording equipment into the auto shop and discussed details of the alleged plan with Chip.
One day, they talked about methods for disposing of the bodies. That conversation allegedly included an evaluation of the positives and negatives of using acid to dissolve the two victims' remains, resulting in a potential plan to "cut them in half and put them in the drums and let them sit out [on some open land] for two weeks."
The CI and Chip allegedly argued over the potential for getting caught. According to the affidavit, Chips response was"the only people that get caught is the people that talk about it."
In one of their final conversations, The CI allegedly asked Chip whether he wanted a "closed casket" or an "open casket" for Day, to which Chip reportedly responded "I don't give a f***."
In their final meeting, Chip allegedly had second thoughts about allowing the CI to use the previously mentioned 9mm handgun for the murders. Police said Chip was recorded talking about an alternate plan involving a single-shot .223 including a shell catcher to prevent spent rounds from being left behind.
On Friday, investigators decided they had ample evidence of Chip's plans to finance the double murder in addition to allegedly providing the pistol. He is being held at the Smith County Jail on $1,000,000 bond. If convicted, he would face up to life in prison.
Original Story:
TYLER (KYTX) -- A Tyler man was booked into the Smith County jail Friday after being charged with "criminal solicitation."
Tyler Police Officer and Spokesperson Don Martin confirmed late Friday that the Tyler Police Department had obtained an arrest warrant against 32-year-old Chip Owens accusing Owens of conspiring to commit a murder by attempting to hire someone else to actually complete the act. Martin said Owens' wife was the target of the plot, and that more details would be available Monday.
Martin declined to comment on whether Owens managed to contact an actual "hit man" versus being intercepted prior to making contact with one.
Judge Christi Kennedy signed off on the warrant, whose full contents were not immediately available due to the courthouse's weekend closure.
Owens' bond was set at $1,000,000.
