SEATTLE, Wash. – A Snohomish County man who was dealing drugs in Whatcom County has pleaded guilty to numerous charges, including trying to hire a hit man to kill a witness.

The U.S. Attorney in Seattle says 44-year-old Michael John Scott was sentenced in January 2020 to six and a half years in prison for dealing fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine.

A week later, and before he was due to report for that sentence, he was arrested while on his way to sell fentanyl pills to a person in Whatcom County.

He tried to hire a hit man to kill a witness and a person connected to the witness while he was held in federal detention following that arrest.

The person he thought was arranging the hit was a federal agent.

Scott could face up to 20 years in federal prison under the plea agreement.

He will be sentenced in July.