A Tennessee Air National Guardsman has been charged after allegedly applying for a hitman position on a parody website designed to spoof murder-for-hire services. The Department of Justice announced the charges against 21-year-old Josiah Ernesto Garcia, who submitted an employment inquiry to the website rentahitman.com, which has been in existence since 2005.
Originally created to promote a cybersecurity startup that ultimately failed, the website gained notoriety for receiving numerous inquiries about hiring hitmen over the years. Garcia reportedly expressed interest in the job by highlighting his military background and expertise with firearms. According to a criminal complaint filed on Thursday, he sought a detailed job description after submitting his initial inquiry.
Garcia’s follow-up communications included a resume that indicated he had been serving in the Air National Guard since July 2021 and boasted of his marksmanship skills, even mentioning that he was nicknamed “Reaper” due to his military accomplishments. His emails conveyed a disturbing eagerness for the position, with one stating, “I enjoy doing what I do,” and expressing a desire for a job related to his military experience, specifically mentioning “shooting and killing the marked target.”
In response to his inquiries, the website’s owner, acting under the guidance of the FBI, informed Garcia that a Field Coordinator would contact him soon. The situation escalated when an undercover FBI agent reached out to Garcia for a phone interview on April 5, during which Garcia inquired about the job’s start date and payment structure.
The agent’s probing questions included whether Garcia would be comfortable taking body parts as trophies or engaging in torture, to which Garcia replied affirmatively, stating he was “more than capable” if the situation arose. This exchange led to an in-person meeting where Garcia was presented with a fictional target package, including details about an alleged abusive husband for whom the client was willing to pay $5,000, with an upfront deposit of $2,500.
After agreeing to the terms of the supposed murder-for-hire arrangement, Garcia shockingly asked if he needed to provide a photograph of the deceased. Shortly after this meeting, he was arrested by FBI agents, who later discovered an AR-style rifle in his home.
Garcia now faces charges for using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, carrying a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison if convicted. His court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, and attempts to reach his attorney for comments have been unsuccessful. The Air National Guard has also been contacted for a statement regarding this troubling incident.