With some of their alleged victims present in the courtroom Thursday morning, all four members of the Taylor family pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from their activities as the owners and operators of Montecito Motors.
Chet Taylor, 71, and his son Adam Taylor, 41, remained in custody with a bail hearing set for this Tuesday. At that time a judge will decide if their bail, currently set at $1 million each, is appropriate. Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Cota said the DA would object to any reduction of the bail or release of the two on their own recognizance.
Chet’s wife, Jennifer Taylor, 65, and daughter Sarah Taylor-Swing, 43, were not in custody Thursday. Joshua Lynn, the attorney for Adam, and Joshua Webb, the attorney for Chet, declined to comment following the arraignment.
Some of the alleged victims, however, did have something to say. “We were all taken in by these folks. They were just good con-men, I guess. I don’t know what else to call them,” said Les Imlay, who said he placed his 1954 Jaguar XK 120 on consignment with Montecito Motors and received only half of the $80,000 the car is estimated to be worth. “Still don’t know how much they sold it for.”
The family is charged with a multitude of felonies that include grand theft, forgery, and filing false tax returns. Chet faces a maximum of 32 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Adam faces 30 years imprisonment, Sarah faces five years in prison, and Jennifer faces five years and eight months if convicted on all counts.
All four will be back in court on January 13.
“I’ll make all the hearings; I want to see this weasel go down,” said Imlay.