United States of America v. Narsan Lingala

Newark, New Jersey conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant.

In 2012, Lingala and his wife, Saroja Alkanti, divorced after more than 15 years of marriage. The divorce was contentious, and in early 2018, Lingala was arrested for failing to pay alimony and child support. While detained in Middlesex County, Lingala informed his cellmate Carlo Commesso that he wanted Alkanti dead. On his own initiative, Commesso responded by pretending to know someone named "Manny" who could kill Alkanti. Commesso acquired Lingala's New Jersey address so they could keep in touch. A few days later, Commesso contacted Lingala and asked him to send his phone number, which Lingala eventually did. Commesso then began cooperating with law enforcement. To assist them, Commesso introduced Lingala via text message to Carlos Teixeira, a detective and sergeant at the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, who was posing as Manny the hitman.



Between June 20 and August 18, 2018, New Jersey authorities recorded 13 phone calls and various texts between Manny and Lingala, some of which were initiated by Lingala. On July 27, Lingala, who was in Indiana at the time, told Manny he was "serious" about the murder-for-hire and asked for a "ballpark idea" on the cost to kill Alkanti. Supp. App. 15-17. In furtherance of the scheme, Lingala drove from Indiana to New Jersey on August 18 to meet Manny to discuss the details.



Lingala's girlfriend, Sandya Reddy, accompanied him to the meeting, which occurred in a mall parking lot. During the meeting, Lingala offered Manny a down payment of $1,000 to kill Alkanti. To help Manny do so, Lingala disclosed Alkanti's name, age, address, phone number, place of employment, and how she got to work. With Reddy's assistance, Lingala also provided Manny with a picture of Alkanti and her residence. Law enforcement arrested Lingala and Reddy at the scene immediately after the meeting.

Imprisonment: 120 Months on counts 1 & 2 of the Second Superseding Indictment, 222 Months on counts 3 & 4 of the Second Superseding Indictment to be served concurrently. Supervised Release: 3 Years on counts 1, 2, 3 & 4 of the Second Superseding Indictment, to run concurrently with special conditions; Special Assessment: $100 on counts 1,2,3 & 4 for a total Of $400.