Josiah Ernesto Garcia: Air National Guardsman arrested as he applied to be a hitman online to earn extra cash
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: A 21-year-old Air National Guardsman has reportedly been arrested after he attempted to apply for work as a hitman to make some extra cash on the side, the Department of Justice said in a press release. Josiah Ernesto Garcia, who was employed by the Air National Guard since July 2021, has been charged with the use of interstate facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.
Garcia nicknamed himself 'The Reaper' and attempted to get involved in a murder-for-hire plan after discovering the parody site rentahitman.com, which he thought was a website for people searching for work as a professional assassin. Garcia was in desperate need of money to support his family, which led him to begin looking for contract mercenary employment online in mid-February, where he discovered the website. After making a job inquiry to work as a hitman, Garcia submitted his initial request and other identity documents including a CV declaring that he was an accomplished marksman and had served in the Tennessee Air National Guard, according to Daily Mail.
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On his resume, Garcia nicknamed himself ‘Reaper’, a moniker he had earned from his military experience and marksmanship. Authorities say Garcia soon started interacting with an undercover FBI agent. The conversation ended with Garcia agreeing to kill an individual for $5,000. Once the fake job opened, Garcia and the undercover agent met at a park in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where the agent made a $2500 down payment. Garcia reportedly got images and false information about the intended target during the encounter.
'You are locked in? This is what you want?’
Garcia even asked the agent whether he needed to give a photograph of the dead body after consenting to the conditions of the murder deal. "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. You've got a lot going on, as far as good things in your life to kinda' get in this world," the agent asked, according to the affidavit. "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," the agent continued.
He told the undercover agent that he would prefer to work in another state, but that he would also be happy to kill in his own state. The agent then informed him that he could make a lot of money if he killed fifty people. "That's rookie numbers for the Reaper," Garcia allegedly responded before adding, "My only question is when can I start? I'm very excited." Following the interaction, the FBI arrested Garcia and launched an investigation against him. An AR-style rifle was discovered during a subsequent investigation of his residence. Garcia risks up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
Who is the founder of RentAHitman.com?
Bob Innes founded RentAHitman.com in 2005 with his friends from an IT program in Santa Rosa, California. According to People, the group hoped to build a computer security firm but never did, and they eventually split up. Innes had almost forgotten about the website until 2008 when he checked in simply for fun and discovered 300 or so emails in the inbox. "How much for a hit? Do you perform asset extraction? Are you hiring?" were some of the eyebrow-raising questions people were asking, he recalled. According to Innes, as of November 2022, the site had resulted in at least 30 arrests and some convictions.