Benjamin Ashford|Guardsman wanted to work for RentAHitman.com. He's now awaiting a prison sentence

An Air National Guardsman from Toledo went to www.rentahitman.com,Benjamin Ashford submitted his resume, extolled on his willingness to kill people, and got himself a job interview hoping to start a career as a murder-for-hire professional.

The problem was that the web site was a joke. And so was the company that was supposedly looking for hit men.

But the prison sentence facing wannabe hired killer Josiah Ernesto Garcia is no joke. The website administrator, calling himself Guido, replied to Garcia's emails in early 2023 at the direction of the FBI.

"Guido" informed Garcia that a coordinator would be in touch. The FBI sent an undercover agent to meet with Garcia, 21, at a park in Hendersonville, Tennessee and paid him $2,500 to kill a man who in fact didn't exist, according to federal prosecutors. Garcia was ready to do the job and even offered to provide a photo of the dead body, court papers said.

The guardsman left the meeting not with a job but a set of handcuffs around his wrists. He pleaded guilty this week to using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire and now faces up to 10 years in federal prison at his Feb. 2025 sentencing.

"Garcia needed money to support his family and in mid-February 2023 began searching online for contract mercenary jobs and found the website www.rentahitman.com," federal court documents said.

He then "submitted an employment inquiry indicating that he was interested in obtaining employment as a hit man and that he had 'military experience, and rifle expertise,'" the Justice Department said. "Garcia followed up on this initial request and submitted other identification documents and a resume indicating he was an expert marksman and had been employed in the Air National Guard since July 2021."

Originally created in 2005 to advertise a cyber security startup company, the company behind www.rentahitman.com failed and over the next decade it received many inquiries about murder-for-hire services, federal prosecutors said. 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, federal officials wrote.

The site also had a form where people can request hit man services and apply to work as a hired killer.

Garcia submitted a resume, unaware that the site was not a "legitimate" hit-man recruitment bureau. Garcia said on his curriculum vitae that he was known as the "Reaper" and followed up about a job, FBI Special Agent Stephen Hunter wrote in charging documents.

Garcia told "Guido" on Feb. 20, 2023, that the job was similar to what he did in the Air National Guard, which he enjoyed, court papers said.

Airman told RentAHitMan.com he's the 'Reaper'

The FBI wrote in documents that Garcia noted his ability not to miss a single bullseye and was a shooting expert in the military. Garcia told the undercover agent he was a trained military sniper and was capable of torturing people if a client asked.

"Garcia stated that he was concerned that the (undercover agent) may be law enforcement but is now comfortable" that he was not, Hunter wrote. "He stated that he was looking for contract mercenary jobs online and that took him to contract hitman jobs."

Hunter added the undercover agent asked Garcia multiple times if he was sure about following through on the job, to which Garcia reassured him he was.

The undercover agent met with Garcia on April 12, 2023, and gave him details about targets, Hunter wrote. If he killed them, Garcia would receive $5,000. Garcia received $2,500 in cash at the meeting and was told he'd receive the rest later.

"During the conversation, Garcia asked . . . if he needed to take a photo [of the dead body] as proof that the job was complete," Hunter wrote. "Garcia was subsequently arrested by the FBI."

Hitman websites helped foil murder-for-hire plots

Garcia isn't the first person caught by hitman websites. The RentAHitman administrator wrote on the site that people have "abused" the website and submitted inquiries over the past month that triggered law enforcement investigations.

"These threats have targeted individuals, voice actors, universities, law enforcement agencies, and elected officials," "Guido" wrote.

In September, a New Mexico man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to hire a hitman. Leif Everett Hayman used the same website, RentAHitMan.com, three times to contract someone to kill his girlfriend's mother.

In July 2023, a Miami woman was charged for attempting to hire a hitman on a website to kill her 3-year-old son. It wasn't immediately known if she used the same website as Garcia.

Later that same month, a Kentucky man was sentenced to more than six years in prison for trying to kill a 14-year-old N.J. boy. The man, John Michael Mushbach, was a suspect in a sex crime and sought to prevent the boy from testifying against him.

"It's baffling that despite the warnings, these dingbats keep sending in these absurd requests," Guido wrote. "But as long as the threats keep rolling in, I'll continue to respond accordingly, exposing the danger to those who may never have known they were at risk. "

Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY.

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter,@KrystalRNurse.