On April 14th, Gardner met with an undercover ATF agent posing as a hit-man on the east side of Evansville to discuss details concerning his ex-wife. During the meeting, Gardner allegedly gave the hit-man a description of his ex-wife and information regarding her address and the description of her vehicle. Gardner allegedly agreed to pay $1,000 as a down payment and another $1,000 when his ex-wife is killed. The investigation also determined Gardner and his current wife had allegedly attempted to hire two different individuals over the last several years to kill his ex-wife.



Around 8pm, Sunday night, Gardner met with the undercover ATF agent posing as the hit-man in the Walmart parking lot in Princeton. Gardner paid the undercover officer $900 and allegedly agreed to pay an additional $1,100 after his ex-wife is killed.