Allen Maurice Diggs, 74, of Sweet Home was sentenced Friday to nine months in prison after pleading no contest to felon in possession of a firearm. {{more}
Diggs faced two charges of felon in possession of a firearm stemming from incidents on Nov. 6, 2015 and Jan. 5, 2016. The charge from 2016 was dismissed.
Additionally, Diggs was fined $200. He will be on post-prison supervision for 24 months. He will be subject to sanctions, “including the possibility of additional imprisonment in accordance with the rules of the State Sentencing Guidelines Board,” if he violates any of the conditions of post-prison supervision.
After his Jan. 5 arrest, Diggs was cited for driving uninsured and driving while suspended while he was on conditional release. Those charges were dismissed in February.
In 1995, Diggs was convicted in Linn County District Court of first-degree animal abuse for shooting and killing a dog, and two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, incidents that occurred in Sweet Home.
In 1997, while he was incarcerated, he was convicted in Marion County Court on four counts of solicitation to commit aggravated murder.
According to court documents, he solicited a fellow inmate to murder two witnesses who testified against him in the animal abuse case. The other two counts were for solicitation to kill the witnesses’ two children.
The Associated Press reported in March 1997 that the former inmate testified “that Diggs offered him $1,000 and his motorcycle to kill the family. He said Diggs gave him a map and floor plan of the family’s house, noting a door usually kept unlocked,” according to the article.
After that conviction, Diggs was sentenced to 20 years and eight months in prison. He appealed the conviction, but his appeal was dismissed. Diggs was released from prison in February of 2009.