Man awaiting trial on drug-trafficking charges was plotting to kill two prosecutors, a witness in his case and a couple of rivals, feds say

A man locked up in a federal detention facility as he awaits trial on drug-trafficking charges was charged again today: This time for an alleged plot in which he was willing to pay to have the two assistant US attorneys handling his case in Boston court, a person he suspected of ratting him out and two rival drug dealers murdered.

The plot ultimately would not have gone anywhere because the guy that Elijah Melton, 26, of Middleborough, was planning to pay to carry out the murders was a federal informant, according to an affidavit by an FBI agent working on the case.

Melton and Kareem Pires, 25, of Wareham, who allegedly gathered the addresses, photos and other information the supposed murderer would need to find his targets, were charged with one count each of conspiring to commit murder for hire. They were scheduled for their first court appearance today, and face a maximum of ten years in federal prison if convicted, according to the US Attorney's office in Boston.

Melton and another man were arrested last December on charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and the distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Melton was initially released on bail, but then arrested in February for allegedly violating the terms of his release and sent to the Wyatt detention facility in Rhode Island.

According to the affidavit, Melton began talking to another detainee at Wyatt about eliminating the prosecutors, the witness and the rivals - and continued to plan for their demise even after the other guy suggested killing prosecutors might bring too much heat on him. Melton allegedly began referring to the assistant US attorneys as "Hannah Montana" and "Miley Cyrus" and told the other detainee how to find where they lived, starting with LinkedIn:

Specifically, MELTON directed CW-1 to use LinkedIn to find information about the Target AUSAs because that is how MELTON found the Target AUSAs. MELTON specified that CW-1 needed to use someone else’s phone to search for the Target AUSAs so as not to leave a record of the search.

Melton allegedly gave the other detainee, who was released last month, a letter of instructions and payments for Pires - $75,000 for the witness and $75,000 for one of the rivals or $100,000 for both. The affidavit does not specify the price for eliminating the two prosecutors, but says Melton gave the guy a singer-related code to use related to them:

If CW-1 referred to songs like, “Wrecking Ball,”13 MELTON would know what he was talking about. If CW-1 said something like, “I like that song,” it would mean CW-1 was proceeding with the murders, whereas “I'm done listening to that song” would mean the murder was complete.

In addition to Pires, a young relative of Melton was involved in carrying out the scheme; however, he was not charged.

Innocent, etc.