Tim Lambesis, the lead singer for San Diego-based metalcore band As I Lay Dying, was arrested early Tuesday afternoon for an alleged murder plot. According to Reuters, Lambesis was bagged by an undercover San Diego police detective for trying to initiate a murder-for-hire arrangement. The target? Lambesis’ estranged wife, Meggan.

Members of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department supposedly caught wind of Lambesis’ macabre intentions last week, swiftly working to mount an investigation and avert any kind of tragedy. The department has not revealed their sources, nor speculated about a possible motive. Online court records indicate that Lambesis’ wife filed for divorce last fall, but no documents exist to suggest the termination of their union was completed.

The news rains down in sharp contrast to Lambesis’ public image, which has up to now been clean and respectable. According to Billboard.com, the members of As I Lay Dying are all noted humanitarian Christians, and Lambesis’ even adopted three Ethiopian children in an effort to pay forward his success and advance his self-declared mission to make the world a better place.

“I want to help all Americans suffering oppression,” Lambesis wrote in an August 2010 blog post. “I want to help all Ethiopian children lonely and starving in devastating poverty because their parents died from common preventable diseases. More than either of these things, I want to help ANYONE ANYWHERE that I can while knowing that the time and resources I’ve been given will responsibly be put to use.”

Lambesis is currently in custody at San Diego’s Vista Detention Facility. The singer is expected to appear in court on either Wednesday or Thursday for arraignment.

Members of As I Lay Dying and associates from Metal Blade, their label, have both thus far declined to comment. However, fans and venue promoters can at least expect Lambesis’ arrest to affect plans for the band’s upcoming U.S. tour. Still on the road in support of their 2012 disc, Awakened, As I Lay Dying just recently announced plans to serve as special guests on a 30-date summer tour itinerary with fellow metalcore rockers Killswitch Engage. The tour is still set to kick-off on May 30 in Oklahoma City, but no word has been given by the As I Lay Dying camp as to whether or not they intend to go ahead with the dates.

As I Lay Dying formed in 2000 in San Diego, and have since release six full-length albums. The band is most well-known for songs like “94 Hours, “Confined,” and the Grammy-nominated “Nothing Left,” or for their 2007 record, An Ocean Between Us, which debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart.