An Air National Guardsman was arrested in Tennessee last week after federal agents said he responded to a satirical website promoting killer jobs.
Josiah Garcia told an undercover FBI agent he needed the money and thought he’d be good at killing people because of his military experience and because he was an excellent marksman, according to an affidavit filed in federal court Thursday.
The messages were left with the office of the federal attorney general in Nashville, which has been assigned to represent Garcia, and Garcia’s phone was not immediately returned Monday morning.
Garcia said he came across RentAHitman.com while searching the Internet for contract mercenary jobs at the suggestion of a fellow guard at work. The site was originally created in 2005 to advertise a cyber security company that never took off. However, she has received many inquiries over the years about her kill-for-hire services, according to the affidavit. Eventually, the webmaster turns it into a spoof site with fake testimonials, an acceptance form to request services, and an area to apply to become a hired killer.
Garcia submitted a job application on February 16 and sent several follow-up emails over the next month. He gave his name, address, phone number, date of birth and a photo of his driver’s license in Tennessee, according to the affidavit.
In a follow-up, he added a section titled “Why I Want This Job,” according to the affidavit. “I am looking for a job, well paying one, related to my military experience (shooting and target kill) so that I can support my kid on the way. What can I say, I enjoy what I do, so if I can find a job similar to it, (as This) put me on the coach!” she reads.
Garcia indicated that he was an expert marksman, earned his nickname “Reaper”, and “has been serving in the Air National Guard since July 2024,” according to the US Attorney’s Office.
At the beginning of April, an undercover FBI agent, who claimed to be a “field coordinator” for the company, contacted Garcia. They talked extensively about the supposed job, including how much García would be paid and whether he would be willing to torture people and cut off a client’s fingers or ears. Garcia responded positively and said he was ready to start. When asked why he wanted to get involved in this, Garcia told the agent that he was looking into civil law enforcement but wanted to do something more exciting.
On Wednesday, Garcia met with the agent at a park where the agent presented him with a fictional “target package” containing photos, a name, an address, and other information about the fake person he was supposed to kill. The agent also paid Garcia $2,500, supposedly the first of two installments. Garcia was arrested the same day.
Garcia told agents after his arrest that he had no intention of going through with it. He said he had just received a job offer at a medical center in Nashville that he intended to take instead.
Garcia was federally charged Thursday with using interstate facilities to commit the murder-for-hire. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison, according to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.