A US Air National Guardsman has been charged after allegedly registering with a spoof hitman website and agreeing to murder someone for $5,000.
Josiah Ernesto Garcia, 21, is said to have met an undercover FBI agent to collect photos and details of a fictionalised target for him to murder.
Prosecutors say he also submitted a CV and identification to rentahitman.com indicating he was an expert marksman nicknamed “Reaper” with military experience.
However, the site was actually a parody that featured fake testimonials and a form where people could order a ‘hit’ or register to work as a hired killer.
Garcia needed money to support his family and had originally searched online for mercenary jobs, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Tennessee.
The ‘sting’ in the park in Hendersonville, Tennessee, happened last week after an FBI agent began communicating with him.
A $2,500 downpayment was allegedly handed over and prosecutors say Garcia agreed to the deal and asked if he needed to take a picture of the body.
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He was swiftly arrested and an AR-style assault rifle was found later when agents searched his home.
Garcia – from Hermitage in Tennessee – was charged with the use of interstate facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
