His lawyer, Talmage Newton IV, said that Clarett still disputes the claims made at trial.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sirena Wissler told U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig that she had "little doubt" that Clarett's plot would have been successful but for the intervention of law enforcement. And she said that the intended victim was still fearful of Clarett and his associates.

Had the sentence for the crime not been capped at 10 years, Clarett could have faced more than 24 under federal sentencing guidelines. Fleissig did run the sentence consecutive to whatever he might get on two other criminal cases, including the pending murder charge.

Fleissig said that targeting a witness "strikes at the very heart of our system of justice."

In an email to the Post-Dispatch after the hearing, Newton vowed Clarett would appeal. Jurors were never allowed to consider an entrapment defense, he wrote.

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