An undercover officer went to the house of a couple charged with murder for hire Thursday afternoon. The officer recorded the couple offering to give a vehicle in exchange for killing a man who invaded the couple’s house two weeks earlier, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the Orange County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 office.
The Orange Police Department sent the undercover officer after a Texas Ranger reported a confidential informant told him the couple might be trying to get someone to kill the three men involved in the home invasion.
Police at 4:19 p.m. Thursday had a search warrant for the house at 314 Bridal Wreath in the Roselawn subdivision. Samuel Clark McLellan, 44, and Ann Marie Gilbeaux, 32, were arrested and charged with the first degree felony of criminal solicitation. The crime carries a punishment of up to life in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.
In addition, the two were charged with two counts of a second degree felony, possession of a controlled substance. Orange Detective Captain Cliff Hargrave said officers found 2.5 ounces of methamphetamine and two ounces of cocaine in the house. In addition, police found two rifles and two pistols.
The home invasion happened at 12:41 p.m. October 13 at the Bridal Wreath house. Police reported that three men went inside and began beating up McLellan. He got to a shotgun and fired it, scaring the invaders away. Police at the time said McLellan went to the hospital for treatment but was not seriously hurt.
Detective Sergeant J.C. Steele said in the affidavit Thursday that Texas Ranger R. Smith contacted him on October 22 asking about McLellan and a home invasion. Steele told the ranger Orange police have an open case on the invasion. The ranger then said he had information about the home invasion victims wanting to get someone to murder the three men.
On Wednesday, Orange police met with the confidential informant and decided to have an undercover officer go with the informant to the Bridal Wreath house.
The officer and the informant went to the house about 1:44 p.m. Wednesday with the officer wearing a listening device plus an audio-video recorder.
According to the affidavit, the undercover officer was told than a man in Louisiana is “handling” one of the invaders “for free.” Another one of the invaders is going to prison and McLellan said “he would have him taken care of in there.”
Sergeant Steele’s affidavit said police learned the identity of the third invader from McLellan. The undercover officer asked McLellan and Gilbeaux what they wanted to do with the third man. The affidavit said Gilbeaux said the man “needs to get f—ked off,” a street term for being murdered.
The affidavit said McLellan described how to overdose the man “with a specific combination of drugs that would instantly stop his heart.” In addition, McLellan offered the undercover officer his vehicle as payment and gave the officer a firearm as a “good faith payment” or to be used for the murder. He said the firearm could not be tracked back to him.
Sergeant Steele said McLellan and the undercover officer discussed establishing an alibi.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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