A Tennessee Air National Guardsman was arrested Wednesday and charged Thursday with the use of interstate facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.
Josiah Garcia, 21, inquired about employment at rentahitman.com, a parody website displaying fake testimonials about successful murders-for-hire, on Feb. 16, 2023.
Mr. Garcia would go on to upload his contact information, headshot, driver’s license, home address, and resume to the website.
When asked why he wanted the job, Mr. Garcia, who indicated he was an expert marksman, said that he needed the work to support a kid on the way, and that he enjoyed the job i.e. shooting and killing provided targets.
“What can I say, I enjoy doing what I do, so if I can find a job that is similar to it, (such as this one) put me in coach!,” Mr. Garcia wrote to the website on Feb. 20, according to a criminal complaint.
Over the course of March and into April, Mr. Garcia would contact the website multiple times, having not heard back about employment opportunities. At the direction of the FBI, the owners of the site told Mr. Garcia that a coordinator, in reality an FBi undercover operative, would be in touch.
In early April, the FBI employee had a recorded conversation with Mr. Garcia, as well as an in-person meeting at a Nashville restaurant.
Mr. Garcia said that he knew that taking hit jobs was a crime, and that he was looking for something more exciting as a career than civilian law enforcement.
The agent and Mr. Garcia also discussed payment, and Mr. Garcia said he had been looking for contract mercenary jobs, which had led him to look for hitman work.
On Sunday, the agent sent Mr. Garcia a message that there was a job available, and arranged a meeting for Wednesday.
Upon arriving to a set location on Wednesday, Mr. Garcia took information on a fake hit, as well as $2,500, with $2,500 more to be paid upon completion. Mr. Garcia also asked if the victim needed to be photographed after being killed, the complaint alleges.
Mr. Garcia was subsequently arrested by the FBI. After waiving his Miranda rights, Mr. Garcia told agents that a friend had suggested contract mercenary work, and that he needed the money to help his family pay rent.
Mr. Garcia also told agents that he had intended to leave the money on the curb and call the undercover agent upon returning to his car, as he had found a medical job and had begun job training on Monday.
If convicted, Mr. Garcia will face up to 10 years in prison.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.