FBI informant heard murder-for-hire plot in Starbucks parking lot in Manteca, feds say
A federal grand jury has indicted three men on suspicion of trying to arrange a murder-for-hire in Manteca.
The supposed “hitman” was actually an FBI informant, said a news release Monday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento.
The April 13 indictment names Jagninder Singh Boparai, 46, of Manteca; Ramesh Kumar Birla Jr., 45, of Dublin; and Shaminderjit Singh Sandhu, 49, of Tracy.
Court documents said the intended target had filed a lawsuit accusing the three men of fraud in the purchase of a Stockton site that was to be developed as a truck parking lot.
The release said the informant met with the men starting Feb. 16 in a Starbuck’s parking lot just off Airport Way. More meetings followed until they were arrested March 31, the office said.
The indictment is not for attempted murder under California law. Instead, it is for conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder for hire. That can include transportation or communication systems. Boparai also is charged with the actual crime, not just conspiracy.
He, Birla and Sandhu face up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines if convicted. They remain in custody.
Other details were laid out in the release and in a complaint filed by an FBI special agent:
The unnamed informant had a criminal record dating to 1998, mainly for theft, but was trusted by the FBI. This person agreed to meet with the three suspects and to record their conversations.
The informant was to kill the target for $30,000, including a $10,000 down payment. The unidentified target was never harmed.
The case has a twist: Boparai allegedly wanted the informant to first beat up another person to demonstrate a willingness to carry out the murder. This was because Boparai had once hired a hitman who failed to come through, the release said.
“Let’s start with a good beat up, very good,” Boparai said in one recording. “... Then I have another job.”
The informant was to receive $1,000 down and a total of $6,000 for the assault. But agents got wind of the deal. According to the release, they helped the victim fake a photo showing supposed injuries, so Boparai would be satisfied.
The FBI had assistance on the case from several federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies. Details on what they did were not disclosed.
These partners included the San Joaquin County sheriff’s and probation departments; the Stanislaus County sheriff and district attorney; and police in Modesto, Ceres, Turlock, Lathrop, Stockton, Tracy and Dublin.
