TV Chef Gets 9 Years in Plot to Kill Wife
Juan Carlos Cruz is accused of trying to hire homeless men to kill his wife.
 Juan Carlos Cruz (KTLA-TV) |
SANTA MONICA ( KTLA) -- Celebrity chef Juan Carlos Cruz has been sentenced to nine years in prison for allegedly trying to hire homeless men in a plot to murder his wife.
Cruz smiled and winked at his wife Jennifer Campbell during Monday's sentencing hearing.
Defense attorney Shawn Chapman Holley told the superior court judge that Cruz would likely serve half of the prison term because the crime was not a serious violent felony.
Cruz pleaded no contest to solicitation of murder earlier this year.
The 48-year old, who hosted the Food Network show "Calorie Commando, was arrested in May by Santa Monica police after a homeless man reported being offered $500 to kill his wife.
Police say they set up a sting operation and videotaped Cruz arranging the killing with several homeless men.
Prosecutors have not released a motive in the case.
Celebrity website TMZ.com says it obtained a series of text messages between Cruz and the homeless men he allegedly tried hiring to kill his wife.
TMZ also reports that Cruz allegedly wanted the men to cut his wife's throat.
The homeless men told TMZ that Cruz gave them $500, half of the $1,000 fee for the hit, box-cutters and cell phones.
Cruz came to the United States at age 3, the youngest of three sons of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, and grew up in Arcadia.
He created the TV show, "Crusing in the Kitchen," that aired on a local California public-access station.
That led to a featured appearance on the premiere season of Discovery Health Channel's "Body Challenge," on which he shed 43 pounds. He lost 15 more pounds after the show ended, according to his biography.
Cruz submitted a clip of the show to the Food Network. In 2004, the network signed him to produce the television show "Calorie Commando," in which guests challenged him to prepare their favorite meals with fewer calories while retaining the taste -- dishes included peanut butter cookies.
His motto became "Keep the taste while you trim your waist."
Cruz produced 39 episodes of "Calorie Commando" before it was canceled in 2006.
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