A former corrections officer has shared details about a frightening plot from 2012 where a convicted murderer planned to kidnap, castrate, and kill Justin Bieber. The killer, Dana Martin, who already had two life sentences for raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl in 2000, had a tattoo of Bieber on his leg and pled guilty to criminal solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
While serving time at a prison in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Martin recruited two men, Mark Staake and his nephew Tanner Ruane, to help carry out his plan. Sergeant Edgar Pinon, who appears in Investigation Discovery’s upcoming Hollywood Demons episode Stalking the Stars, recalled speaking privately with Martin. During their conversation, Martin admitted he had a “hit list” that included 18-year-old Justin Bieber and explained that he had tried to contact the singer before.
Staake and Ruane were caught by police on November 19, 2012, after accidentally driving into Canada while trying to reach Vermont. Police found shears and neckties in their vehicle, which were meant to be used in the crime.
In a taped interrogation, Martin explained that the plot was about gaining notoriety and wanting Bieber to know who he was. Sergeant Pinon believes Martin didn’t truly want Bieber dead, suggesting that Martin wanted attention rather than to actually harm the singer. Martin was reportedly upset that Bieber had ignored his handwritten letters, which motivated him to create the disturbing plan.
Martin pled guilty to criminal solicitation to commit first-degree murder, and Staake and Ruane also pled guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Their plan was supposed to take place while Bieber was performing at Madison Square Garden in New York on November 28, 2012.
