Man Accused of Trying to Hire Hitman
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Authorities said William David Hamlett, 62, of Carroll County attempted to hire a hitman to murder his ex-wife, Gail Denton of Perryville. “The hitman was an undercover TBI agent. Hamlett paid the undercover TBI agent money up front and agreed to pay an additional $40,000 after the murder was completed,” said Jason Locke, Special Agent in charge with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Locke said Hamlett gave the TBI agent directions to find Denton, a layout of her home along with a picture of her. “I would be dead. (It’s) just that simple. I would be dead,” said Denton when asked about her close encounter. Denton said after a recent divorce from Hamlett, her ex-husband had become disgruntled due to the judge’s decision to award her the couple’s house boat, the only property free of liens. “That I left him was a blow to his ego,” she adds. She said Hamlett was awarded property near Spring Creek where he runs a body shop. “He hired people to go to my mother’s house and threatened her and the rest of my family that if I didn’t back down and let him have it all he was going to kill me and kill my family,” she adds. Community members who live near Hamlett said the thought of a neighbor accused of hiring a hitman is unsettling. “If you have a neighbor that would do that to somebody, you know (there’s) no telling what he’s likely to do to the neighbor if he was to get upset at them,” said Donnie Garey, Hamlett’s neighbor. Authorities have charged Hamlett with solicitation to commit first degree murder. He is being held at a Decatur County jail. Court papers show he was initially denied bond, but was later given a $1 million bond at arraignment. He is due in court Monday, October 24.
