A Wilmington man was arrested on Wednesday on charges of devising a plot to engage in interstate murder-for-hire prosecutors said. Officials said that according to court documents, Javier A. Rodriguez, age 47, hired a hitman to murder his ex-wife. Prosecutors said over the course of the investigation, Rodriguez made a down payment of $5,000 to another individual to pay for the hitman. Rodriguez also agreed to pay an additional $5,000 once the murder was completed.
Rodriguez is charged by criminal complaint with a violation of the federal murder-for-hire statute and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison if convicted. Rodriguez appeared in federal court on Wednesday afternoon before the Honorable Mary Pat Thynge, Chief Magistrate Judge for the District of Delaware. Based on the Government’s motion, Rodriguez was detained pending an additional hearing on the matter currently scheduled for March 31, 2022.
Source: USDOJ
