One of two people charged in a murder for hire scheme entered a guilty plea in Unicoi County Criminal Court. 63 year old James Tipton pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to solicit first-degree murder and conspiracy to deliver drugs. The case began as a drug investigation, but progressed and Gerald Dorene Tipton is said to have paid an undercover agent to kill her ex-husband. James Tipton faces three years in prison for having knowledge of the crime and not reporting it to authorities. (jb)