JESSUP, Md. (AP) — Howard County police say an inmate at the detention center tried to hire someone to kill his girlfriend’s former boyfriend and the former boyfriend’s mother.

Officers say they received a tip that 37-year-old Bernard Perez-Garcia was looking for someone to kill the two people. Perez-Garcia is being held at the detention center on alleged federal immigration violations.

Police say an undercover detective posing as possible hit man met with Perez-Garcia in the jail. Investigators say the inmate told the detective he wanted the crimes to look like a robbery at the store the would-be victims owned.

Perez-Garcia has been charged with two counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. He is being held without bond.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.