A 34-year-old Towanda man could face as much as 21 years in prison and a $45,000 fine after pleading guilty Monday to criminal use of a communication facility for trying to hire a hit man to kill three psychics.
Craven Michael Vaughn's attorney Paul Walker said his client was guilty but mentally ill.
Because no psychiatrist was present to testify at the guilty plea to Vaughn's mental state, Wyoming County President Judge Russell Shurtleff asked if Walker was willing to stipulate on behalf of his client that fact based on an evaluation done while Vaughn was in a state mental health facility.
Walker said his client initially was unable to submit to a complete interview when first sent to Torrance State Hospital in Derry but a Dr. Fishbein was able to make a psychiatric diagnosis.
District attorney Jeff Mitchell said he accepted the doctor's written testimony.
Judge Shurtleff asked Vaughn if he was taking medication for his illness, and after Vaughn responded affirmatively, the judge asked again if any medication he was taking affected his understanding of what was going on in the courtroom.
He said it did not.
DA Mitchell said Vaughn faced counts of criminal use of a communication facility with the intent to murder three individuals whom he identified as James Van Praagh, Maureen Hancock and David M. Baker.
Court records indicate Van Praagh was an author and television producer, Hancock, was a TV personality credited with a series on the Style Channel and Baker was a professional investigator who has written books.
Previous testimony revealed that Vaughn had engaged in a Dec. 7, 2012, phone conversation in which the caller indicated he wanted to make a $3,000 down payment, and that a transaction would take place in the WalMart parking lot south of Tunkhannock in Eaton Twp.
It turned out the alleged hit man was a state trooper who worked undercover.
During Vaughn's preliminary hearing about six weeks after the incident, the trooper testified that Vaughn gave him $3,000 and said he had $350 more, if needed.
The trooper testified that he told Vaughn, "Are you sure you want these people murdered? He said he did, and I said, 'You know once the ball gets rolling, there's no turning back.'"
It was then that Vaughn was arrested.
Judge Shurtleff said Monday that Vaughn would be sentenced at a later date.