Man, girlfriend get prison in plot to kill cop

TUCSON, Ariz. - A Tucson man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted first-degree murder along with his girlfriend.

A Pima County jury convicted 29-year-old Nathaniel Curtis on drug charges in November 2007 and he was sent to prison for nearly 16 years.

A short time later, a man called police and said he had shared a jail cell with Curtis and Curtis had hired him to kill two people- a confidential informant and Tucson police Sgt. Chris Widmir.

Widmir was an undercover officer with the Counter Narcotics Alliance drug task force when he purchased crack cocaine from Curtis in November 2006, according to court testimony.

Detectives later confirmed the murder-for-hire story and found out that Curtis' girlfriend, Rachelle Harris, gave him a gun to carry out the slaying.

Curtis pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and his 25-year sentence will run consecutively to his drug sentence.

Harris pleaded guilty last December to attempted first-degree murder and attempted possession of a narcotic drug for sale.

She was sentenced to 12 years in prison Thursday, the same day Curtis was sentenced.