US Army sergeant arrested in alleged murder-for-hire plot against 4 people, including 2 minors: Police

A United States Army sergeant and his brother have been charged in a failed murder-for-hire scheme that targeted four individuals, including two juveniles, according to officials.

Servicemember Jeremiah Peikert, 30, was arrested on Thursday by Connecticut State Police, accused of conspiring with his brother, Joshua Peikert, 32, who was incarcerated at the Corrigan Correctional Center in Uncasville at the time of the alleged scheme, according to court documents.

The two brothers have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit risk of injury to minors, according to court documents.

The plot, in which Joshua allegedly solicited his unnamed cellmate to hire a hitman in 2022, targeted four people: a 29-year-old female, a 23-year-old adult male, a 10-year-old girl and a one-year-old girl, according to court documents.

Police discovered the adult woman is the mother of the two children and the adult male is her boyfriend, according to court documents.

According to court documents, the cellmate told Joshua he would find a hitman outside of prison to commit the murders for a fee of $10,000 per person and requested a "finder's fee" of $500 to do so.

According to court documents, the inmates agreed on two payments of $250 -- one before and one after the crime was committed and Jeremiah provided the initial payment for his brother.

Joshua allegedly wrote the targets' address, information about where they slept and where to find a spare key on a note with the word "job" on it and his first and last name, according to documents.

The alleged murder-for-hire plot was unearthed when Joshua's cellmate sent a handwritten letter to the 29-year-old woman detailing the alleged plot against her, according to documents.

The woman contacted police in Groton, Connecticut, who reported they began investigating the case in October 2022.

The unnamed cellmate told authorities he never intended to hire a hitman for the job and was just interested in collecting the money from the brothers.

"At no time did I have any intention of hiring a hitman or committing any violence," the cellmate testified, according to documents.

Investigators said they discovered Jeremiah and Joshua had discussed the alleged scheme under the guise of it being a "construction job" and that Jeremiah had transferred the $250 finder's fee to the cellmate's account.

In December 2023, Jeremiah allegedly admitted to investigators in Texas that he had made the payment and that he knew it was intended to hurt the 29-year-old woman, however, he claimed he did not know the children were involved, according to documents.

"I did not believe the kids were planned to be involved in this scheme," Jeremiah testified, according to documents.

Jeremiah did not post a $500,000 bond and was charged in a New London, Connecticut court on Friday.

No individuals were hurt in connection with the alleged scheme, according to documents.

ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.