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Matthews Man Arrested For Attempting To Hire A Hit Man

Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office

Authorities arrested a Matthews man Friday night for attempting to hire a hit man on the internet to murder a Charlotte resident.

An affidavit filed by a Homeland Security agent alleges Bryant Riyanto Budi, 26, made contact with an undercover agent ­­­– who was posing as a hit man – to conduct a murder-for-hire. Through the course of multiple communications between Budi and the agent over the last few months, Budi hired the agent to kill a Charlotte resident identified in the investigation as “C.S.”

The agent said Budi used “online usernames, encrypted messaging platforms, and encrypted email services to disguise his true identity” during their communications.

According to the affidavit, Budi told the agent in an email on April 25 that the “enemy” he wanted to kill had been “making his life a living hell” and had “extorted [him] for a year.” Budi instructed the agent to make the murder look like a “robbery gone wrong.” On April 27, Budi offered the agent $4,000 in bitcoin and told him that the targeted individual was a 30-year-old man who lived in a Charlotte apartment.

Court documents showed that Budi instructed the agent to take a picture of the weapon he would use during the attack as proof before payment. The agent complied, taking a picture of his firearm outside of the intended victim’s apartment. The affidavit stated that Budi made payments totaling $800 in virtual currency to the agent.

According to records provided by the management company of the Charlotte apartment complex, Budi was the lessee for the apartment where the intended victim resides.

The affidavit also alleges that Budi contacted an online covert employee with the FBI in a separate email exchange, in hopes of purchasing a lethal dose of a radioactive substance. Officials said Budi expressed intent to use the substance to kill an unnamed individual and instructed the FBI employee to ship it to an address in Charlotte.

Officials said a package that appeared to be the radioactive substance was delivered to a friend of Budi’s in Charlotte. The friend cooperated with law enforcement and set up a meeting with Budi on June 1 to retrieve the substance. After the brief meeting, authorities arrested Budi.

Authorities charged Budi with one count of using interstate commerce to commission a murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years. Budi is currently in custody at the Mecklenburg County Jail.