SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Central Florida lawyer who is the father of social media influencer Gabriela Gonzalez is in jail, accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting singer Jack Avery.
In a Los Angeles filing, Avery is seeking a domestic violence restraining order against Gabriela Gonzalez and seeking sole legal and physical custody of their daughter.
Francisco Gonzalez, a Heathrow lawyer, appeared before a Seminole County judge Tuesday after being arrested on charges tied to the alleged plot.
Gonzalez is accused of targeting Avery, a singer-songwriter based in North Hollywood, California.
Investigators said Avery is the father of Gonzalez’s granddaughter and was involved in a custody battle with Gonzalez’s daughter, Gabriela Gonzalez.
Previous court records show Avery and Gabriela Gonzalez shared joint legal and physical custody, with a detailed visitation schedule that included visits in Florida and Los Angeles.
Gabriela Gonzalez, known online as Gabbie, has a large social media following. Records show she was arrested in Northern California and is being held in Los Angeles.
Both father and daughter are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, according to investigators.
During Tuesday’s court appearance, Francisco Gonzalez did not fight authorities’ attempts to bring him to California to face the charges.
He is now expected to be transferred to California to face those charges.
Investigators said the alleged plot goes back years, starting with a private investigator who was hired to follow the intended target during the pandemic.
According to an arrest report, Francisco and Gabriela Gonzalez are accused of arranging for Avery to be hit by a car in Los Angeles, where he lived.
Investigators said Francisco Gonzalez paid another man $10,000 to arrange the hit.
The payment was allegedly made under the cover of web development work, according to investigators.
Investigators said Gonzalez used the code word “Bullrun” to put the plan into motion.
According to the arrest report, Gonzalez believed it would be cheaper to pay for the hit than continue the expensive custody battle.
In the filing, Avery said he was notified by the FBI in 2021 that a hitman had been hired to kill him. He said he was later informed that the case had been turned over to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office and that Gabriela Gonzalez, her father Francisco Gonzalez and another man had been identified as alleged co-conspirators.
Avery said in the filing that after Gabriela Gonzalez’s arrest, he was contacted by a Los Angeles police detective and told their daughter had been removed from Gonzalez’s custody and placed with a foster family in Northern California. Avery said he flew to San Francisco and drove several hours to pick up the child.
Avery also told the court he has concerns for his and his daughter’s safety, saying Gabriela Gonzalez’s family members have been calling and texting him repeatedly since her arrest.
The court filing is a request for a restraining order and custody changes. It was not immediately clear from the records whether a judge had granted the request.
Channel 9 reached out to Avery, the other man named in the alleged plot, the man investigators believe was asked to act as the hitman and the private investigator named in the documents.
The private investigator told Channel 9 he had no recollection of communicating with Gonzalez five years ago.
The others did not respond.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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