A Columbia man who was in jail on separate charges has been accused of trying to hire an out-of-state hitman to kill a Columbia police officer.

A Boone County prosecutor charged Nikolaus Harvey, 36, Thursday with conspiracy to commit a class A felony.

A probable cause statement said an inmate sharing a cell with Harvey at the Boone County Jail reported that Harvey asked him to kill a police detective who had investigated Harvey in connection to a string of car burglaries .

The inmate, described as a witness in the probable cause statement, said Harvey offered him $5,000 to kill the detective; the witness told Harvey he wouldn't do it but knew someone who would, according to the probable cause statement.

On Monday, the witness gave police a map that Harvey allegedly gave him that mark

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