The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has rejected the cases of two Long Beach men arrested earlier this week in connection to a murder plot pending further investigation, Huntington Beach Police Officer Jennifer Marlatt told the Post.
Huntington Beach police officers arrested four men over the course of two days on suspicion of conspiring to kill a woman for financial gain, officials reported.
Authorities said undercover detectives met with one of the suspects to set a price to have a woman they knew well killed, but no additional information about the case is being released.
John Reid Taylor, 67, of Huntington Beach, and his sons Matthew Austin Taylor, 27, of Long Beach, and Joseph Jordan Taylor, 29, of Huntington Beach, were arrested along with Travis James Sprague, 36, of Long Beach. They were booked on suspicion of solicitation to commit murder, Marlatt said.
Matthew Taylor was also booked on suspicion of obstructing or resisting a peace officer and failing to provide a DNA sample as required by law.
Matthew Taylor was arrested Tuesday night in Long Beach, his brother was arrested Tuesday afternoon in Westminster, and their father was taken into custody that night in Huntington Beach. Sprague was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Huntington Beach, Marlatt said.
The district attorney’s office, however, rejected the charges on John and Matthew Taylor and Sprague, releasing the suspects pending further investigation, authorities said.
Joseph Taylor is currently being held in jail with an initial bail set at $1 million. His next hearing is May 22.
The Taylors all listed occupations in the surf industry and Sprague’s listed occupation was diesel mechanic.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Above left: Travis Sprague. Right: Matthew Taylor. Photos courtesy of Huntington Beach Police Department.