Phila. woman gets 25 to 50 years in contract killing

A Southwest Philadelphia woman who admitted hiring a neighborhood mechanic to kill her boyfriend because he wanted to end their 17-year relationship was sentenced Friday to 25 to 50 years in prison.

Desiree Hicks, 58, said nothing before she was sentenced by Common Pleas Court Judge Glenn B. Bronson in the May 31, 2012, slaying of Aaron Hayes Sr., 52, a SEPTA trolley driver.

Hicks pleaded guilty in April to third-degree murder and conspiracy, admitting she hired Miguel Gonzalez to ambush and shoot Hayes after he said he wanted her out of his house in the 7100 block of Elmwood Avenue.

Gonzalez, 39, pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced in April to 30 to 60 years in prison.

Hayes, a 27-year SEPTA employee, was killed shortly before 5 a.m. as he left for work from his house. Despite the hour, several people saw Hayes' slaying, including a fellow trolley driver.

Authorities arrested Hicks after learning she told relatives she was angry at Hayes because he had begun a relationship with another woman.

Hicks was arrested in July 2012 after detectives found evidence of text messages and calls between her and Gonzalez before Hayes' slaying.

Gonzalez fled the country but was arrested a year later in Honduras and returned to the United States for trial.

Hicks and Gonzalez never settled on how much he was to be paid. The prosecutor said he was supposed to take Hayes' wallet and use the victim's ATM card toward payment. Gonzalez, however, fled without the wallet.