Johnny Jaramillo, Murder-for-Hire, California 2018

A federal grand jury in Fresno, California has returned a six-count indictment against 50-year-old Johnny Jaramillo, a resident of Hanford, charging him with using interstate facilities with the intent to commit murder for hire.

According to court documents, on December 15, 2017, Jaramillo met with an undercover agent in Selma to sell him three firearms. During the sale, Jaramillo asked the undercover agent to kill a person with whom he was involved in a lawsuit. After discussing how the murder would take place, the undercover agent told Jaramillo that he would accept firearms as payment for the murder.

On January 12, 2018, the agent and Jaramillo exchanged texts and arranged to meet that day. During the meeting, Jaramillo gave the undercover agent a 9mm pistol and ammunition and assured him that the firearm could not be traced back to him. He also confirmed that the picture sent in a text was the man he wanted killed.

Jaramillo was arrested on January 17, 2018, and is currently detained pending trial. The intended victim is unharmed.

The indictment also alleges that Jaramillo knowingly sold a firearm to a person who had a prior felony conviction on October 11, 2017. Additionally, he is accused of possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle and three pistols.

Jaramillo is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Pearson and Kimberly A. Sanchez are prosecuting the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/kings-county-man-indicted-arranging-murder-hire