Libby man facing more federal prison time
A Libby man scheduled for release from federal prison in July could find himself remaining behind bars for an additional 60 years if convicted on new charges filed in United States District Court in South Carolina.
Details regarding the new charges are sketchy, as the affidavit of probable cause was ordered sealed by the judge, but Shane Douglas Sichting was indicted by a grand jury on charges of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, retaliating against a witness and attempted murder within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
The grand jury indictment alleges Sichting, between July 2015 and January 2016, “used or caused another to use the mail or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, with the intent that a murder be committed in violation of the laws of the State of South Carolina, as consideration for the receipt of, and as consideration for a promise and agreement to pay, anything of pecuniary value...”
The indictment further alleges Sichting attempted to kill two individuals, identified as S.S. and R.M., during the same time period, “with the intent to retaliate against” them for testimony.
If convicted on all counts, Sichting could be sentenced to up to 10 years on the murder for hire charge, 30 years for the witness retaliation and 20 for the attempted murder charge.
Sichting was convicted of murder for hire in 2007 and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in 2008. He was found guilty in December of using interstate communications to set up a murder-for-hire plot. The conviction followed a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Missoula.
The jury took four hours to convict him.
According to court records, Sichting, who owned American Muscle Autoworks in Libby, approached an employee in November 2006 about hiring someone to kill his wife, Sheilagh.
Sichting allegedly said she was causing him problems.
The employee, Ronald Morales, agreed to the job and told Sichting he would hire a Mexican hit man. He then accepted $30,000 from Sichting before returning to his family in Eugene, Ore., leaving his car in Libby as collateral for the payment.
Sichting kept in touch with Morales by phone, believing he was furthering the murder-for-hire plot, and wired him an additional $5,000.
Prosecutors portrayed Morales as a drifter who saw Sichting’s unhappy marriage as an opportunity to swindle him out of money.
Sheilagh Sichting testified she had endured years of physical and mental abuse from her husband, which only became worse when she gained custody of their two children. She learned of the plot to have her killed when her husband was arrested during a divorce proceeding on Aug. 31, 2007, she said.
After receiving the last of the wire transfers, Morales cut off ties to Sichting, expecting the man to realize he had been scammed. Instead, Sichting traveled to Oregon to contact his former employee about his progress.
When Morales was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Oregon, prosecutors said he told police about the plot because he was afraid what might happen to both himself and Sheilagh.
Defense attorneys had argued that money changed hands as payment for the car Morales left in Libby, and that Sichting had a change of heart and called off the plan.
They also pointed to Morales’ extensive criminal background, calling into question his credibility as a witness.
After Morales came forward, FBI agents began investigating Sichting, and on Aug. 30 sent undercover Kalispell police officer John Ortiz to pose as the would-be murderer for hire.
Ortiz met with Sichting in Libby and confirmed the man had paid money to have his wife killed.
The officer asked Sichting “how he wanted it done,” saying that he usually made it look like a carjacking and would shoot her in the back of the head and take her purse to make it look like a theft.
However, both recording devices Ortiz wore during the meeting malfunctioned, leaving prosecutors to rely only on his handwritten notes.