In a shocking turn of events in Texas, a young man has been accused of plotting a violent act against the family of his child’s mother’s new partner. Hugo Carlin, a 19-year-old, faces serious charges for allegedly attempting to organize a murder. Reports from the McLennan County Jail indicate that Carlin is accused of soliciting assistance in his plan to kill, and he was taken into custody on Wednesday. Currently, he remains in jail with his bail set at a substantial $250,000.

The allegations suggest that Carlin was determined to carry out this deadly plan but encountered a logistical problem: he lacked the means to reach his intended victim. According to authorities, Carlin’s desperation was evident in his communications with acquaintances, as revealed by an arrest affidavit.

In a text exchange with 22-year-old Elian Araujo, Carlin expressed his need for assistance, stating, “I need gas money bro.” This plea for help was part of a series of messages reviewed by local CBS affiliate KWTX, which shed light on the seriousness of his intentions. One chilling message claimed that Carlin was not joking, as he threatened that he was going to “smoke” the victim, indicating his resolve to follow through with his plan.

As the investigation unfolds, the details of this disturbing case continue to emerge, leaving the community on edge and highlighting the lengths to which Carlin was allegedly willing to go to carry out his intentions.

“I’m not playing,” another message read, along with the threat that the defendant was going to “smoke” the victim.

On Sept. 15, Araujo picked Carlin up in his vehicle, along with three other people, police say. One of them, 21-year-old Misael Jiminez, was also in the vehicle, according to law enforcement. As the vehicle moved through Waco, a police officer pulled it over near the intersection of Franklin Avenue and South 5th Street due to an alleged traffic violation.

When the officer peered inside, he saw five firearms between three people in the backseat. One minor had two guns tucked into his waistband, the affidavit says. Carlin himself had a semiautomatic rifle with “an extremely high capacity of very deadly ammunition,” according to the charging document.

Additional law enforcement officers arrived to help arrest the suspects, with one of them reportedly telling investigators Carlin “had been talking about going to confront his child’s mother’s new boyfriend.”

Court records show that Araujo and Jiminez have both been charged with criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. They are also being held on $250,000 bail.

Police alleged in the affidavit that the text thread between Carlin and Araujo “supports the story given by parties at the time of the traffic stop that Hugo Carlin was looking for a ride or gas money, and that [Araujo] then picked up Carlin and [the others] to assist [Carlin] in the commission of the criminal offense of murder and/or aggravated assault.”

One of the men in the vehicle was not charged after cooperating with law enforcement, the local TV station reported.