news-record.com

HIGH POINT - A High Point man had plans to leave the country this week just as police closed in to arrest him in a murder-for-hire plot against his wife.

Friends and neighbors of Shabbir Hussain Shah, 55, said he was to leave for his native Pakistan to visit his mother and brother on Wednesday and then travel to Saudi Arabia on a religious pilgrimage.

High Point Police arrested Shah, of 1327 Florida St., Wednesday. He is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and is being held in the Guilford County jail in High Point on a $20 million bond.

According to court records, Shah conspired with a man named Dewey Johnson to kill his wife, Nayyar. The meeting took place on Wednesday, according to court documents.

There are no court or arrest records for Johnson. It's unknown if Johnson was working undercover with police.

Shah owns Zee Auto Sales on Hamilton Street. A friend was at the business Friday but declined to give his name. He said Shah is well-known and well-respected among the tight-knit Pakistani community in High Point.
Shah's first court hearing was held Thursday.

Court records show Shah was charged with assault on a female in 1984 and 2004 but the cases were dismissed. He was also charged with simple assault in 1995 but that charge was dropped.