Los Osos business owner arrested in alleged murder-for-hire scheme

A Los Osos moving company owner was arrested Tuesday after being accused of attempting to hire an undercover agent to murder a business associate.

San Luis Obispo police have released few details, but they said Anthony Gene Stevens, 52, of Los Osos was arrested in an Arroyo Grande parking lot following a multiagency investigation.

Stevens, listed online as the owner of T. Stevens Moving Services, was arrested on suspicion of a single felony charge of solicitation to commit murder.

Calls to the business were not immediately answered Friday afternoon. Stevens was in custody Friday in County Jail and was being held without bail, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.

San Luis Obispo police were notified that Stevens was actively seeking someone to murder a business associate, identified only as a 30-year-old male living in San Luis Obispo, according to a department news release.

An undercover officer set up a meeting with Stevens in an undisclosed location in Arroyo Grande, police said. During that meeting, Stevens allegedly provided the officer with detailed information about the would-be victim, including his name, home address and photographs. After agreeing on a bounty, Steven left the location and later returned with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to the department. He was then arrested without incident.

San Luis Obispo police Sgt. Brian Amoroso, who issued the news release, declined to provide any further information Friday.

Officers from the Sheriff’s Office, the CHP and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also involved in the operation.

Meredith Davis, a spokeswoman for the ATF, said she was not able to confirm the specific role the agency played in the investigation, but said it routinely provides undercover officers, guidance and equipment in murder-for-hire investigations.

Police said the investigation remained ongoing Friday.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Los Osos business owner arrested in alleged murder-for-hire scheme."