On Tuesday, Tim Lambesis, the singer for Christian heavy metal band As I Lay Dying, was arrested for allegedly attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged wife.

As it turns out, the “hitman” he tried to hire was actually an undercover detective, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Police were reportedly tipped off last Thursday.

"The information came to us late last week. We acted quickly on it. I believe that we averted a great tragedy," San Diego County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Jan Caldwell told Reuters.

Lambesis was taken into custody from an Oceanside, California business without incident and was booked into Vista Jail on suspicion of solicitation of murder.

NBC San Diego reports that court documents show Lambesis's wife, Meggan, filed for divorce last September. In the years before they separated, the couple adopted three children from Ethiopia.

Below is the statement released from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department:

[h/t Metal Injection/Image via AP]

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