John Burkett

NASSAU COUNTY, FL - John Burkett, a man who owns a successful towing company, happens to be going through a nasty divorce. In what he hoped to give him an upper hand in ensuring that he did not lose a good chunk of his assets, he came up with a BRILLIANT plan. He would simply hire some people to plant weapons and drugs in his wife’s car, tip off police and then roll in all his untouched cash as his estranged wife sat in prison for a crime she didn’t commit. Genius! But wait, one small hitch…there couldn’t possibly be anyone dumb enough to help Burkett with his plan, could there?

Meet Fred Ring. For whatever reason, he thought Burkett’s idea was a great one as well and and decided to take Burkett’s $2,000 to place cocaine and a gun in his wife’s car. But see, Ring wasn’t stupid. Oh no, not at all. He decided to get help.

Meet Carla Loper and Mark Regan. Burkett offered Roper $1,500 and Regan $300 to do the job for him. Which they did. And man, he got his money’s worth.

When police eventually pulled over Burkett’s estranged wife, after Nassau County Sheriff’s Office says it received a tip about a woman planning a drug transaction, they found cocaine, prescription medication and a gun. Of course she professed her innocence and denied knowing anything about the items. In the process, she informed the police about her divorce and how she thought she was being framed. Police believed her as everything was just a bit too perfect.

“It was almost like a Christmas package for a law enforcement finding because you had cocaine and pills, five types of illegal narcotics in this package,” said Nassau County Sheriff Tommy Seagraves.

Burkett was charged with conspiracy to commit armed burlgary and conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and if found guilty, faces a mandatory 15 year prison sentence. Fred Ring, Carla Loper, and Mark Regan are facing charges of attempted burglary-conspiracy and solicitation. All four are currently out of jail. What’s  up with Regan, btw. $300 dollars?

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