Hitman Goes to Tattoo Shop with $40K in Cash, Tells Owner Her Ex-Husband Hired Him to Kill Her

In Maryland, 65-year-old Leslie Eugene Smith Jr. walked into Montgomery County tattoo shop, Tantric Tattoo Boutique. He had $40,000 in cash, asked for the owner by name, and proceeded to tell the owner intimate details about her, including the locations of her former businesses. Then, he told her that her ex-husband wanted her dead, and hired the hit.

Officers said Smith appeared to be intoxicated when he entered the store.

Court documents say Smith told the owner that he wouldn’t kill her because he was in love with her. Smith also allegedly told the owner he had previously killed 27 people, had multiple firearms in his vehicle and kept women as sex slaves.

The owner told police that Smith offered her $6,000 to show him her breasts and told her that he would drug her with Xanax to rape her. Before leaving the shop, investigators say Smith dropped an envelope with $40,000 inside which was recovered by the owner.

Three days later, Smith parked his Lincoln Continental sedan in the parking lot, returned to the store again… again appearing intoxicated. Officers arrived shortly after and arrested Smith. He faces charges of stalking and of driving under the influence. Additional charges are possible.

The self-confessed hitman of Fulton, Maryland currently has twelve firearms registered to him, and provided the shop owner with a receipt from Fox’s Firearms in Laurel.

It showed he’d purchased boxes of Sig Elite ammunition only two days earlier.

“He stated that he collects money for killing people. He stated that he likes killing people and that he has killed 27 people,” Montgomery County Police wrote in court documents.

The victim stressed to police that Smith was a complete stranger, and thus, was perplexed as to how the 65-year-old knew details about her life.

Detectives dug into Smith’s history and found he legally owned 12 firearms, including an AK-47 and an AR-15.

Maryland’s ‘red flag’ law, which recently took effect on October 1, allowed law enforcement to file an Extreme Risk Protective Order (ERPO) against Smith.

The judge-approved civil order stated Smith was not mentally fit to possess any guns.

While serving a search warrant at his Howard County home, officers located eight of Smith’s weapons. Four, however, remain unaccounted for.

List of guns legally registered in Leslie Eugene Smith Jr.’s name:

• TEC-9 (semi-automatic pistol)
• AK-47 (assault rifle)
• Uzi (submachine gun)
• Javelina (semi-automatic pistol)
• MAC-11 (subcompact machine pistol)
• AR-15 (semi-automatic rifle)
• P-12 (pump-action 12-gauge shotgun)
• Colt Anaconda (double-action revolver)
• HEC gun (unknown type)
• USAS-12 (automatic shotgun)
• CLT gun (unknown type)
• Saiga EAA (semi-automatic rifle)

At this point officials don’t know if Smith was telling a drunk tale, or if he drunkenly shared an actual hit job.

The judge firmly shot down any chance of Smith leaving the county jail while awaiting trial.

“That’s a red flag. He should be held without bond. He’s an extreme danger to the community,” Montgomery County District Court Judge, Rand Gelber, said.

Montgomery County’s Major Crimes Division is handling the ongoing investigation. They are also planning to conduct an interview with the victim’s ex-husband. However, they have not named him as a suspect in the case.