Ex-correctional officer’s plea deal in Clovis murder plot rejected. It started with affair
A former corrections officer from Clovis was due to be sentenced Thursday for hiring a hit man to kill his girlfriend’s husband — but 34-year-old Miguel Angel Corona will now face a preliminary hearing after a Fresno County judge threw out the defendant’s plea agreement.
Fresno County Superior Court Judge James Kelley changed his mind about the plea agreement after reviewing the case file and hearing from the man who was the target of the hit.
Christopher Schmall said in court that he and his family have been living in fear since the fall 2021 when Clovis police uncovered a plot to have him killed.
According to court records, Corona is alleged to have hired Bradley Beau Costill, a felon with access to a ghost gun, to kill Schmall.
Corona was due to be sentenced Thursday. Costill, who also agreed to a plea deal, will be sentenced July 5.
Schmall acknowledged that his wife was having an affair with Corona, who was working as a correctional officer and she was a nurse in the prison system.
The couple filed for divorce in March 2020 and it became final in August 2022, according to court records.
Schmall said he doesn’t understand why Corona would want him dead.
“I don’t know this person,” Schmall said. “I’ve never even had a full conversation with him.”
The judge’s decision to reject the plea agreement was welcomed by Schmall, who wants the maximum punishment for Corona and anyone else involved in wanting him dead.
“Maybe this means I can get something closer to justice,” Schmall said after the hearing.
More than a dozen friends and family of Schmall attended Thursday’s court hearing. They also vowed to return for the preliminary hearing and future hearings.
Charges against ex-correctional officer, alleged accomplice
Corona was originally charged with solicitation of murder and conspiring to commit a crime. Costill was charged with several felonies, including conspiring to commit a crime and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Both men agreed to plea agreements in exchange for reduced sentences.
Corona pleaded no contest to a charge of solicitation of murder. He faced a maximum sentence of nine years. The charge of conspiring to commit a crime was dropped.
Costill pleaded guilty to being a person prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm or ammunition. It’s unclear what his maximum prison sentence could be.
If Corona’s case proceeds to a jury trial and he is convicted, he could be facing up to life in prison, said Miiko Anderson, senior deputy district attorney.
Corona’s attorney, Linden Lindahl, said his client has made a complete confession about his role in the attempted murder plot and is sorry for what he did.
Lindahl added that Corona is a highly decorated military veteran having served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also has no prior criminal history, Lindahl said.
The preliminary hearing for Corona is set for July 17.
