Cops: Cheesy Murder Plot Foiled MEMPHIS, Tenn, Dec. 7, 2005
(AP) In an unusual case of mistaken identity, a woman who apparently thought a block of white cheese was cocaine was charged with trying to hire a hit man to rob and kill four men.
The woman also was mistaken about the hit man. He turned out to be an undercover police officer.
Jessica Sandy Booth, 18, was arrested over the weekend and charged with four counts of attempted murder and four counts of soliciting a murder. She remained jailed Tuesday on $1 million bond.
According to police, Booth was in the intended victims' home last week when she mistook a block of queso fresco for cocaine, inspiring the idea to hire someone to break into the home, take the drugs and kill the men.
An informant described the plot to police, who arranged a meeting between Booth and the undercover officer.
Police said the undercover officer gave Booth some nonfunctioning handguns and ammunition, and they went to the home under police surveillance.
A search of the home revealed no drugs, only the white, crumbly cheese common in Mexican cuisine.
"Four men were going to lose their lives over some cheese," said Lt. Jeff Clark, who heads Project Safe Neighborhoods.
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