Woman Sentenced for Attempting to Hire Hit-Man

MARSHALL — A Longview woman involved in a murder-for-hire plot has been sentenced to prison time after reaching a plea deal with the state. According to KETK, Amanda Denise Smith, 26, pleaded guilty Wednesday and was ordered to serve seven years in prison. She will be eligible for parole after serving a standard amount of time, said Harrison County DA Coke Solomon. Another Longview woman accused of being involved, Sydney Brook Sides, was eventually let go after her May 2013 arrest. Solomon stated she was just “in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Smith was caught trying to kill her estranged husband, a Hallsville police officer, in order to collect a life insurance policy. The woman was taken into custody after attempting to hire an undercover Texas Ranger as a hitman.