Man From US Air National Guard Accused Of Applying For Work On 'Murder-For-Hire Website'

A man in the US state of Tennessee is facing federal charges "after meeting with an undercover FBI agent to culminate a deal to murder an individual for payment," US Attorney Henry C. Leventis has announced.

The US Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee said in a statement on Friday that Josiah Ernesto Garcia, 21, was charged in a criminal complaint with the use of interstate facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.

"Garcia needed money to support his family and in mid-February began searching online for contract mercenary jobs and came across the website www.rentahitman.com. Originally created in 2005 to advertise a cyber security startup company, the company failed and over the next decade it received many inquiries about murder-for-hire services," the office said.

The website's administrator had however then converted the website to a parody site "that contains false testimonials from those who have purported to use hit man services, and an intake form where people can request services," it added.

"Garcia submitted an employment inquiry indicating that he was interested in obtaining employment as a hit man. Garcia followed up on this initial request and submitted other identification documents and a resume, indicating he was an expert marksman and employed in the Air National Guard since July 2021.

"The resume also indicated that Garcia was nicknamed 'Reaper' which was earned from military experience and marksmanship. Garcia continued to follow up with the website administrator indicating that he wanted to go to work as soon as possible," the statement said.

It was also noted that Garcia started to contact an FBI undercover agent over agreeing to kill an individual for $5,000.

"Garcia met the undercover agent at a park in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and was provided with a target packet of a fictional individual, which included photographs and other information about the individual to be killed, and a down payment of $2,500.

"After agreeing to the terms of the murder arrangement, Garcia asked the agent if he needed to provide a photograph of the dead body. Garcia was then arrested by FBI agents, who in a subsequent search of his home, recovered an AR style rifle," the statement said.

The attorney's office also said that if convicted, Garcia will face up to 10 years in prison. -