Freddy Manuel Gonzalez, Murder for Hire, Kentucky 2020

BOWLING GREEN, KY. – A federal indictment has been unsealed against Freddy Manuel Gonzalez, a Bowling Green man accused of orchestrating the murder of his ex-girlfriend's husband in Franklin, Kentucky.

Brian Russell, 43, was shot and killed on December 30, 2020, outside his home in Franklin. According to a federal grand jury's indictment, Gonzalez had dated Russell's ex-wife in 2020 and had previously threatened Russell with a gun. The indictment alleges that Gonzalez and Xavior Caine Posey, a co-worker, discussed the murder in text messages and that Gonzalez offered to pay Posey to commit the crime.

The case unfolded in December 2020, when Russell told co-workers that Gonzalez had once threatened him with a gun. On December 30, 2020, Franklin Police responded to a shots-fired complaint at Russell's home and found that he had been shot three times. Russell died later that day.

Gonzalez and Posey were both in federal custody as of May 20, 2021. The indictment charges them with a violation of 18 United States Code, Section 1958, Murder for Hire. If convicted at trial, the maximum sentence is death, and the minimum sentence is life in prison, with a maximum $250,000 fine.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Madison Sewell and David Weiser. The investigation has been led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Franklin Police Department, with assistance from several other law enforcement agencies.

The indictment of a person by a grand jury is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Gonzalez's co-defendant, Xavior Caine Posey, has also been charged with Murder for Hire. Both men remain in federal custody and are awaiting trial.

The Warren County Sheriff's Office, the Logan County Sheriff's Office, the Muhlenberg County Sheriff's Office, the South Central Kentucky Drug Task Force, the Warren County Drug Task Force, the Kentucky State Police, the Russellville Police Department, the Bowling Green Police Department, and the Simpson County Commonwealth Attorney's Office assisted in the investigation.

Mandatory Facts: Defendant: Freddy Manuel Gonzalez, Exact Charges: Murder for Hire, City and State: Bowling Green, Kentucky, Date: December 30, 2020, Sentence: Currently in federal custody, Fine: $250,000 maximum.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdky/pr/two-indicted-murder-hire-franklin-man