A man has pleaded guilty to his role in a 2020 homicide that federal prosecutors claimed was a murder for hire.

Xavior Caine Posey, 26, entered a guilty plea Monday in U.S. District Court to a charge of murder with the use of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Posey acknowledged shooting Brian Russell, 43, of Franklin, three times during the period of Dec. 29-30, 2020, at Russell’s home in Franklin.

Answering a series of questions from U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers, Posey admitted to his role in the shooting and also acknowledged being supplied a firearm by Freddy Gonzalez and being paid by Gonzalez to commit the crime.

According to federal court records, Gonzalez had been in a relationship with Russell’s ex-wife, who then returned to Russell to rekindle their partnership when the shooting took place.

Posey and Gonzalez were indicted in 2021 by a federal grand jury on a charge of murder for hire, which carries statutory penalties of either life without parole or the death penalty. Their cases were set to go to a jury trial next month.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky brought the amended charge against Posey in a superseding information, a document charging someone with a criminal offense without presenting the case to a grand jury.

Gonzalez was due to appear Monday afternoon in federal court to enter a guilty plea in the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Weiser said the terms of the plea agreement for Posey call for a sentence of 25-40 years in prison.

Weiser said the prosecution was prepared to establish at trial through cellphone records and other evidence that Gonzalez supplied Posey with the firearm used in the murder in Bowling Green, then Posey traveled to Franklin to shoot Russell and returned to Bowling Green.

Posey was driven to Franklin by Andy Schmucker, who has pleaded guilty to a count of being an accessory after the fact to a murder for hire and awaits sentencing.

While the case was pending, Posey’s court-appointed attorney, Kyle Bumgarner, requested Posey undergo a psychiatric examination, expressing concerns in a court filing about Posey’s mental health.

In court Monday, Bumgarner said that any issues of competency have been resolved and he believed that Posey was competent to enter a guilty plea. Posey will return to court Oct. 1 for sentencing.