An Air National Guardsman was arrested last week on federal charges after allegedly signing up on a parody website to become a hitman.
Josiah Ernesto Garcia, 21, was charged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee with the use of interstate facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.
Garcia allegedly needed money for his family and thought he could put his training to use and become a contract mercenary.
During the course of his search online, Garcia came across the website www.rentahitman.com, which was originally created in 2005 to to advertise a cyber security startup company which ended up failing.
However, the company received so many inquiries about murder-for-hire services that the “website’s administrator 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,” the Department of Justice says.
For example, one of the fake testimonials on the website states:
Caught my husband cheating with the babysitter and our relationship was terminated after a free public relations consultation. I’m single again and looking to mingle. Thanks Guido and RENT-A-HITMAN!
The website has a place where people can go to apply to work as a contract killer.
Garcia allegedly submitted an employment inquiry stating that he was interested in working for the company and later submitted “other identification documents and a resume, indicating he was an expert marksman and employed in the Air National Guard since July 2021.”
According to court documents, Garcia stated: “*Why I want this Job* Im looking for a job, that pays well, related to my military experience (Shooting and Killing the marked target) so I can support my kid on the way. 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!”
The undercover FBI agent posing as an employee of the company appeared to give Garcia a way out of the situation, yet Garcia allegedly decided to proceed forward.
“You are locked in? This is what you want? Because it sounds like you have a lot going on. You’re in the military. You’ve got college,” the undercover agent said. “You’ve got a lot going on, as far as good things in your life to kinda’ get in this world. It is a shady world, and I just don’t want you to have regrets if you come to work for us, because it, I mean it messes with your mind, shooting people.”
Court documents say that Garcia indicated that he had “weighed the psychological effects of killing someone and he was ok with it” and that while he would prefer to kill people in another state, he was fine doing work locally.
He suggested that he could easily kill 50 people and not have a problem with it. “That’s rookie numbers,” he said.
“My only question is when can I start?” Garcia said, “I’m very excited.”
Garcia was provided a packet by the FBI of a fake individual and information pertaining to the fake hit job that law enforcement set up.
Garcia allegedly agreed to kill the individual, collected an initial $2,500 payment for the hit, and was immediately arrested by the FBI.
If convicted, Garcia faces up to 10 years in prison.