Brendt Johannsen
WAUKESHA, Wis. - A Waukesha County man was found guilty at trial Tuesday for his role in what prosecutors described as a murder-for-hire plot.
Brendt Johannsen, 48, was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide and conspiracy to commit money laundering in the case. He was convicted on both counts, court records show, and is scheduled to be sentenced in February.
Johannsen concocted the plan with 29-year-old Nicholas Blandon while the two were in jail, according to prosecutors. Blandon pleaded not guilty in July to conspiracy to commit money laundering and is scheduled to go to trial in January.
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Case details
Court filings said a Waukesha police detective was informed in late June that an inmate had information regarding a plan by Johannsen to kill his ex-fiancee.
The complaint said the inmate told authorities he heard a conversation between Johannsen and Blandon. While the inmate could not remember the specifics, he "knew it involved giving information on the location of a female." The inmate added that another inmate told him that Johannsen had paid or planned to pay Blandon $20,000 to kill the woman.
Waukesha County Jail
A second inmate told investigators the plan to kill Johannsen's ex-fiancee had been going on for about 40 days, per the complaint.
Detectives interviewed Blandon. In that conversation, the complaint states Blandon said he didn't know anything about a plan to kill Johannsen's ex-fiancee and claimed he and Johannsen "never talk."
Prosecutors said law enforcement searched Blandon's jail cell and found a piece of paper with the ex-fiancee's name on it. When Blandon was asked about it, he said he was "trying to get money for his family," and claimed Johannsen only wanted to "scare her."
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Blandon went on to say, per the complaint, that the plan was for him to go into the ex-fiancee's vehicle and "'do petty (expletive)' like take her purse." He said he "wrote down fake things" to make it seem like he would go through with the plan. He also claimed Johannsen never told him he wanted the woman killed.
When asked about the $20,000 check, court filings said Blandon told detectives a friend picked it up and "all the money was spent."