A Vancouver man will go to trial Monday on 22 domestic violence-related charges, including allegations that he tried to hire a hit man to kill his estranged wife.
The trial for Terrence C. Herndon, 32, in Clark County Superior Court is expected to last at least four days, with jury selection beginning in the morning. Opening statements will follow Monday afternoon.
Prosecutors allege that while Herndon was in the Clark County Jail in January and February, he tried to hire a fellow inmate to kill Kristina Herndon, 35, and burn down her house.
Terrence Herndon was first arrested Oct. 21, when his wife reported to sheriff’s deputies that he choked her to the point that she blacked out. She had fresh marks on her neck consistent with her story, according to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court.
She also told deputies that Terrence Herndon, in a fit of rage, broke the TV in her room at her house in the Minnehaha neighborhood. She said he broke her cell phone when she tried to report the assault to deputies, according to court documents.
Investigators said they later learned that Kristina Herndon alleged she had been punched in the head by Terrence Herndon a week before that incident. His wife also implicated him in a stabbing last spring.
This week, prosecutors added charges of solicitation to commit first-degree murder and solicitation to commit first-degree arson. The crimes are alleged to have occurred between Jan. 15 and Feb. 2.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Camara Banfield said the charges came after allegations were made that Herndon asked another jail inmate to kill his wife upon his release from custody.
Citing court rules, Banfield said she could not elaborate further.
Other charges against Terrence Herndon include 12 violations of a domestic violence no-contact order in which he is accused of trying to contact his wife in October and November.
He’s also accused of tampering with a witness for allegedly asking his wife to change her story or not testify against him.
Herndon is being held in the Clark County Jail on $200,000 bail.
Solicitation to commit first-degree murder carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Laura McVicker: 360-735-4516 or laura.mcvicker@columbian.com.
