YOKOHAMA -- The suspect accused of killing and stealing cash from an elderly man in his home here said he had applied for a part-time job that solicited workers with "150,000 yen (about $990) or more daily wages" before the crime, investigative sources told the Mainichi Shimbun.

Mazuki Takarada, 22, of the Chiba Prefecture city of Inzai, has been arrested on suspicion of breaking into the home of Hiroharu Goto, 75, in Yokohama's Aoba Ward, with two others on or around Oct. 15 and killing the resident before stealing some 200,000 yen ($1,300) in cash.

The Kanagawa Prefectural Police believe Takarada was instructed by a group of ring leaders of a recent string of burglaries who solicit people online to engage in "shady part-time jobs."

According to an investigative source, Takarada searched for part-time jobs on social media using keywords such as "white work" and "high income" a few days before the incident. He reportedly applied after seeing a post with the headline "daily wage of over 150,000 yen" and connected with a ring leader giving instructions.

Takarada stated that on Oct. 14, he was instructed by this individual to go to a train station in Aoba Ward, and he drove his car there. He picked up a young man at the station and another one at a nearby convenience store, and the three of them broke into the house between late that night and the early hours of the following day.

He was quoted as telling police, "While on the way to the house, I realized from the instructions that I was getting involved in a crime." However, he had already provided his personal information to the person giving orders, and told investigators, "I was too scared to back out, fearing they might harm me."

(Japanese original by Mayu Miyamoto and Chika Yokomi, Yokohama Bureau)