Associated Press - November 20, 2009 3:05 PM ET

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A federal judge has sentenced a former Wyoming state trooper to serve 15 years in prison for kidnapping a truck driver in what prosecutors say was an aborted murder plot.

U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson sentenced 42-year-old Franklin Ryle on Friday after a lengthy sentencing hearing that began the day before.

Ryle pleaded guilty in July to charges he violated the civil rights of a Wal-Mart trucker by kidnapping the man in January near Douglas. Ryle also admitted to carrying a firearm during the crime.

Ryle has said he intended to stage an accident involving the truck and his patrol car to try to get a settlement from the company. Ryle ultimately released the trucker unharmed.

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